By My Shoulder, I Protect Thee
by Phoenyx0728
Summary: "I'm just a normal guy trying to be a normal guy." Jaune muttered. Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh. "Jaune, you haven't been normal since you got into Beacon." And she was right. He was just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time with the right Sword. All he wanted to do was help people... and what better way? AU, J P centric, Arkos. The Rewrite. (warning)Slow updates.
1. Jaune I

**Hey. Been a while. I was going to type out what I've been up to for the past while, but I decided to cut it in lieu of depressing everyone.**

 **So. I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm going to be writing the story out again. The bad news is that the chapters are going to start out small, and I didn't actually get as much done before posting this as I would have liked. Life got in the way; Work, unrequited feelings, and more depressing stuff that nobody cares about. So it's going to be probably back on the weekly schedule. Fridays will likely be my post days, after I get off of work.**

 **I've been holding out long enough. Thank you for your patience and your support. It's helped.**

 **Anyone who wants the pre-rewrite files, send me a PM and let me know. I wish I could delete reviews, because I feel a bit guilty having over 300 on what is now a very short fiction. If you cannot review some of the chapters due to already reviewing before, I sincerely apologize.**

 **As always, enjoy.**

* * *

Not even through doors of Beacon, he'd already learned a couple lessons. His first lesson came in way of humility, accepting the wrong he'd just done. In this case, it was quickly and repeatedly apologizing to the blonde whose shoes he had nearly ruined, which was a pretty strong indication of his second lesson: Motion sickness wasn't something that was going to repair itself over time, he was stuck with it. Probably for his entire life. The third was to avoid said blonde in favor of living, at least until he could find a way to apologize. The fourth lesson that Jaune Arc learned was how easy it was to make a friend that felt like he'd spent a lifetime with. This one came in the form of a tiny girl with a big cloak, bigger dreams, and an even bigger gun. Among all of the classmates to befriend, the one who had sneezed hard enough to ignite several boxes of dust wasn't the _worst_ option, especially considering she was the only one he wouldn't consider out of his league in anyway. Frankly, she looked to be the youngest, probably no older than one of his sisters, and it made him feel a little strange, and a little protective too.

It was the first lesson his mother had given him, though; _Make friends._ Or more specifically; _Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet._

 _Just follow the crowd._ Was the first thing he'd told himself after the explosion. Staring at the poor girl hadn't helped any, she looked so helpless and sad. _Just go…_

His feet may have betrayed him, but he wasn't really resisting in the first place.

"Uh, Hi." The daring, dashing crusader with the social prowess of a prince made itself known, except it had unfortunately taken the form of an awkward, gangling seventeen year old who couldn't talk his way into an public building. He extended his hand to help her up, earning himself a curious look. The girl seemed shocked at the offer, but took his hand nonetheless. Jaune hefted her to her feet, surprised at how light she was... Not that she looked all that big in the first place. "You look like you could use some help."

"Thanks." She dusted herself off in quick motions, gripping her cloak on both edges and shaking it a bit. After a moment of self-cleaning, she gave him a half smile that faded just as quickly as it came. "Hey… Aren't you the guy who threw up once you were off the air ship?"

"Oh." Jaune couldn't help but wince, which was soon followed by heat rising up his neck. "Y-You saw that. At least I missed that one girl's shoe."

"That 'one girl' was my sister… and you didn't. She's mad." Jaune felt himself go cold, but the hooded girl gestured towards the building, an invitation to walk that he accepted with a careful look around. "Don't worry though, she was defeated by ice cream once. I'm sure you'll be fine." The girl smiled, "My name's Ruby. Ruby Rose. What about you, Vomit-boy?"

"H-Hey! That's not fair." It wasn't. But more importantly he wasn't going to let himself get such an awful nickname before anyone even knew him. His next words came with a bit of gusto behind it. "Motion sickness is a problem that many people face! The name's Jaune Arc. It's short, it's sweet, and the ladies love it!"

Ruby's reply killed that gusto on the spot. A quirk of a corner of her lips, a narrowing of the eyes, a questioning, disbelieving tone. Slow words. "Do they?"

"Yeah!" Jaune tried, but the confidence had disappeared. He felt his shoulders slouch, his arm falling limp from where it had previously been holding a finger in the air. "A-At least I think they do…"

"Right…" She laughed in her throat, nothing that sounded like it was making fun of him at least. A moment of silence reigned during their walk before Ruby shot him a glance out from under the edges of her hair. "So… Uh… I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

"W-What?"

"Weapons." The girl stated as if she hadn't implied anything else, her tone even. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"Oh. Oh, right. Sure."

"Yeah!" She'd gone from zero to one hundred in an instant, twirling in a circle and unsheathing a weapon that Jaune could only describe as three things; Gaudy, Complex, and _extremely_ cool. The tip of the blade implanted itself into the concrete like a hot knife into butter, striking hard enough to send pieces of concrete up at his face. He couldn't help jumping. Unburdened by such worries, Ruby gave him a toothy grin. "I've got this!"

"By my blood… Is… Is that a...?" Jaune asked, his voice breathless and his eyes locked firmly on the large weapon. It was almost as big as she was, how in the world did she stand the weight!? But it looked familiar enough, he'd seen hundreds back home. "A scythe?"

"Yup!" She popped the 'p', lifting it as if it were made of paper and hugging it to her chest, rocking it back and forth like it was a child. Her voice rose in pitch and volume as she talked, giving away her growing excitement of just _explaining_ what it was. "It's also a sniper rifle. Fully interchangeable internal parts, twelve round magazine, variable zoom, nanofiber skeleton, steel blade with a tungsten carbide edge, dust coated barrel!" Somehow, she had enough breath left to let out a sigh of happiness. The next words, at least, were soft. "I call her Crescent Rose. She's my baby."

"Yeah… I see that?" He cleared his throat, unsure of how to follow up against such a detailed explanation. He also wasn't sure about half of it. "So… it's also a uh... gun?"

"In layman's terms, I guess you could call it that." The weapon folded in her grip, though he still wondered how she moved it so easily. That thing had to weigh more than two of him. "So, your turn. Whaddya got!? You got a telescopic sword that shoots out shotgun shells?!"

"Uh... " More and more, alienation and discomfort crept into his stomach. Technically, he wasn't even supposed to be carrying what he was, all he'd done was swipe it off of the mantle before he left home. Though on that note, it did also technically belong to him. So, he reached down to his hip and drew Crocea Mors, freshly polished and shining in the fading sunlight. Ruby's head cocked to the side, so he offered the blade to her handle first. "It was my Dad's, and his dad's before him. So on and so forth. It's been in my family for generations, only used to kill the Grimm."

"So it's just a sword? No gun? Ooh, whoever made it was good!" She eyed it, definitely more familiar with swords than he was. "You've got a smudge here…"

"What?" He'd started to reach for his sword, but Ruby had already taken care of the offending mark with a rub of her cloak. Instead of handing it back, Ruby took the blade by the handle and held it out. "It's balanced really well." She complimented, before offering it back to him handle-first. "I like it! Not many people appreciate the classics."

"Thanks, I think." Jaune accepted the blade with one hand, unbuckling the sheathe with his other. He keyed the release and kept his fingers out of the way while the sheathe extended into it's shield form. He'd learned quickly that the shield had a lot of force when it extended. One time with pinched skin was enough for a lifetime. The scar still shone in the light. "This also turns into a shield and uh… back to a sheathe."

"Ooh. That saves space… But, doesn't it still weigh the same?"

"Yeah." He slouched again, returning the sword to its rightful place and the sheathe to his hip. Ruby laughed, her voice as clear as a bell. "Sorry," she managed after a moment, "I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons."

"It's alright, one of my sisters is the same way."

"Oh, you have sisters too?" She seemed delighted at the ability to continue talking, which was good because he had no idea how to keep a conversation going without a lot of pre-planning. Or maybe at the fact that they both had sisters? It didn't matter. Talking to her almost felt easy, which was a lucky break considering his track record with friends. "I've just got Yang, but she's also sort of like a mother to me."

In one of his wiser moments, he didn't ask what she meant. Her voice had gone extremely somber towards the end, though he missed the way her face scrunched up in pain. Instead, the teen entangled his fingers on his stomach and continued as if the conversation hadn't taken a downward spiral. "Yeah, I've got seven sisters…"

"Ouch." She reached up and made to pat his arm, hesitating for a moment before following through with the action. "I feel for you. Yang is bad enough, I can't imagine having seven sisters who are Huntsman."

"They're not all Huntsman." He corrected, "Only four of them. Lionne, Violet, Aurora, and Aster are the Huntsman. Lily, Ivy, and Duck are-" Jaune stopped, almost slipping. _Like me. Without abilities._ Maybe they were trying to protect him from that life, but he wanted to help people. His mother had offered for him to be a farmer if he wanted to do good, but that just wasn't the same. "They're uh… civilians."

"Oh." She narrowed her eyes, definitely noticing the slip but possibly nice enough not to comment on it. He sent a silent thanks her way. "Okay… I have a question…"

"Yeah?" Panic.

"Uhm… Duck?"

"Oh, yeah." Relief. He felt himself laugh at the memories, "Right, She makes everyone she doesn't know call her that. She found this duck about a year ago and Mom let her keep it for some reason. Well, she got this idea that she didn't like her name, so she gave it to the duck and took the name Duck as a nickname."

"Wow! That's something. What's your sister's actual name?"

"Oh, no no. You don't get to know that." The smile plastered on his face didn't leave. The unease he was feeling, however, did. "You'll have to be her friend first."

"Oh." Ruby was silent for a moment, "You're a good brother."

"Thanks. I try to be."

"For the record, anyone who keeps their siblings secrets, no matter how small, is a good sibling." She nodded, crossing her arms and accepting no substitute for her own wisdom. Another silence fell over them, but this time it was a comfortable one. "Hey, Jaune?"

"What's up, Ruby?"

"Do you know where we're supposed to be going?"

"W-What?" There was that unease again, this time it was just him feeling foolish though. "I-I was following you."

"Well, _I_ was following _you_!" She accused, glancing around with a groan. "Aw, I don't wanna be late!"

"Do… do you think there's a map anywhere? Or like… a directory?"

"Oh, who needs one!" Ruby, having recovered from the momentary gloom, hopped on her feet and balled her fists in a cheer. "Let's explore!"

"Uh- Woah!" Jaune had made to voice his disagreement on the idea, but Ruby had taken his wrist in her hand and pulled with more strength than a girl her size should actually have. They took the first set of stairs two at a time - or at least Ruby did. The male of the pair mostly stumbled his way behind her, doing his best to get his footing and survive the sudden and excited motion. The halls were barren and clear, but sparkling and chilled. The cloaked girl's head went straight to a swivel, her mouth stuck open with an awed sound coming every so often as they spotted an intricate set of tiling, or a masterfully crafted painting… and Jaune couldn't help but feel the same. There were statues of famous Huntsman and influential leaders of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes. None of them were recognizable, yet several of them seemed so… familiar.

The pair stopped at a fork in the hallway, a T intersection that left them smiling and staring upwards at a particularly strong figure. The statue was painted and obviously important. The man depicted was strong of jaw, with chin length white(Though considering it was stone everything was white) hair and eyes as blue as the sky. His face was one of concentration, while his armor and shield, ornate and segmented, nearly shone despite its make of rock. Under his hand sat a large yet simple of build sword, tip planted firmly into the 'ground' below with his palm resting on top of the pommel. And finally, the most piercing detail of all; There was no name for the man, only a title; The Huntsman.

"Ah, inquisitive minds!" A voice cut the silence from nearby, nigh shocking the two teens into a puddle of surprise and chagrin. "I'm sorry!" Ruby was first to recover, flinching away from the new figure slightly. Jaune, on the other hand, had jumped so violently that the back of his ankle had caught onto his shin. This left him as a crumpled heap of armor and male on the floor, which groaned and slowly returned to the form of a sitting teen. "W-We were lost, and decided to explore to find the meeting hall-"

"There is no need to apologize for being curious! Knowledge is the key to everything, after all." The figure, with frizzed green hair and glasses, lifted a mug to his lips as a momentary cease in his words. To Jaune, he seemed to be the bookish, almost nerdy type. Thin, glasses, quick speaking and excitable about, well, knowledge. "You know the saying. Curiosity killed the cat, but the satisfaction of acquiring knowledge returned it to life!"

"Yeah…" Ruby, her brows furrowing and her lips pursing, seemed quite confused. "Uhm… are you a professor?"

"Why no I am not, I am a _Doctor_." His voice took a note of patience with the words, as if he'd already corrected her a thousand times. "Doctor Oobleck, and I teach Remnant History. I see you have already discovered some of our most prized possessions of history! Quite fascinating it is! And yet, equally so fascinating; your interest in it! I look forward to teaching you."

"Professor Oo-?" Jaune pushed himself up, and was met with a slight glare from the older man. One that made his pulse quicken and his mouth stutter out the correction. "Doctor Oobleck, sir, uh…" The teen stopped, cleared his throat, and gestured toward the statue. "Who is he?"

"The great mystery, of course! His name shows up in no text, while his actions do. He is simply the first Huntsman, the first one to use Aura to battle the Grimm, to build a code that we still follow today! What a fascinating fellow he must have been!"

"Oooh. So he's like… the founder of the Huntsman?" Ruby did seem a bit intrigued now, "He must have been quite a hero!"

"Indeed! Though I would not go as far as to say he founded the Huntsman, Ms…"

"Rose. Ruby Rose. And this is Jaune."

"Pleasure to meet you." Though not enough of a pleasure that he remained on the words for long, as Doctor Oobleck immediately continued onto a lesson of what was told about the man to a very interested Ruby. She ate the story up, growing more excited with each subsequent twist and turn. Jaune, on the other hand, spent more time staring up at the face of the man. His hand held firmly onto the hilt of Crocea Mors. Words still drifted around his ears, enough so that he did not simply feel as if he were hearing a supposed story of 'what we know', but more that he was hearing fact. This man had single handedly taken an army of Grimm on his own, wielding the first 'Semblance'; The power to manipulate fire around his body. It was told that he was joined by a woman on the field who held the same power, yet their differing views had split their alliance into two and reduced the battlefield to ashes in the end.

And yet that fact didn't seem to fit. Not to Jaune.

"-and of course there's the idea that-" The man stopped, tilted his head, took a sip of his drink, and finally set his eyes on the teens. "My word, I seem to have taken up much more of your time than I'd intended! I need to get you two to the auditorium!"

"Aww! But it was just getting good!" Ruby whined, visibly slouching. "I love stories!"

"Indeed it was! But I am afraid we will have to postpone the story until we cover it in class! Come now, students, follow me! Glynda will have my head if she knew that I had kept you so long!" And with those words, Doctor Oobleck turned and sprinted off.

Jaune and Ruby stared after him, the former's jaw dropping slightly.

"S-Should we even try to follow him?" Ruby muttered, eyes wide. "He's so… so fast."

"I didn't even see which way he went…"

"Lead the way?" Ruby smiled and shrugged, hopeful.

The blonde only blinked at her. "I'm going to find a directory."

* * *

 **Yeah, as before; BMS is going to start off fairly slow and probably ramp up much quicker in this rewrite.  
**

 **I'm going to provide a little bit of writing advice at the end of every chapter, probably using the chapter as a bit of an example. Hope it helps someone.**

 **But thanks for reading, I'm happy to hear your comments and concerns.**

 **-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspring FF Writer; Your first few chapters.**

Starting off stories is generally pretty tough. There's a trick to them in that you want to start off close to the action as you can without losing out on setting and worldbuilding. The hardest are stories that have tragedies in the beginning - Start off as it happens and the moment has no effect, but last too long and it might become obvious as to what you intend to do. Starting a Fanfiction is much harder than a book, because in books you have time to go back and rewrite it without having to worry about messing up readers, while on FFNet... we don't have that option. But still, don't be afraid to rewrite the beginning! **  
**

Set up foreshadowing and later events(more on that in a later segment) in the first five or six chapters, but also introduce your main Characters. Hint(key word) their flaws and show their virtues(more on this too) with actions more than words. Try not to over-narrate or slap people over the head with exposition, flowery or not. Don't be afraid to mess up; It happens.

Here's an important one; Set the scene, but be _subtle_ about it. In this chapter, I don't describe Beacon at all. I describe the temperature of the air, the happy chatting of the surrounding students, even the scent of leaves and grass in the air. All of this gives the idea of a calm, happy atmosphere. I start ahead of BMS pre-rewrite by not including the airship at all, which inevitably changes up the relationship between Jaune and everyone, as he doesn't meet anyone of note before initiation. One of the key things about AU that barely changes the Canon storyline in the beginning is that you want things to change in a butterfly effect. The small changes set up for a few dynamics that are different than canon. You want a notable example? Pyrrha's a PoV character, you'll see it in her thoughts.

My favorite bit of foreshadowing/referencing; "She was defeated by ice cream once."


	2. Jaune II

**So, my day sucks. Every time life seems to stabilize, it loves throwing things at you.**

 **But I've made a decision that I'll post chapters as I finish them and have them edited and overlooked by patleon909(whose been great about it, go give him a good word).**

 **Enjoy. Thing'll speed up next chapter in the Initiation.  
-Phoenyx**

* * *

"Wow, Beacon sure is something." Ruby hopped on her toes, hands balled into fists over her chest and shaking as they moved. It was like a talent of hers, a mix between skipping, excited bouncing, and walking. After Oobleck's very quick escape, and a very long trek until they'd found students, the male of the two was surprised that she could muster such energy. "Oooooh, I wanna explore all of it!"

"Yeah, it's big." Jaune couldn't think of another way to say it. "But uh… where are we supposed to go?"

"Well…" She lifted a finger, which he followed over to a gathering of people. "Maybe there?"

"Oh. Well." He shifted a hand up to grip his neck. "Let's go?"

"Yeah!" Ruby took four steps forward, before stopping and spinning around in a small jump. "Hey, wanna be on a team together?"

"Team?" Jaune stopped short, the sudden question startling him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't know? Students at Beacon are divided into teams of four. My uncle used to go here." She lifted a slender finger while she explained, "Same as my Dad and Mom. They were actually on the same team, Team Stark! Anyway, you, me, same team?"

"Sure." His reply came after a moment, not to think if it was a good idea but to just catch up to her quick speech. "That'd be nice."

"Awesome!" Ruby jumped, throwing a fist in the air and spinning back to head to the group. "That's three!"

"Three?"

"Yeah." She explained while he caught up. "Yang, you. And hopefully that one girl that I uh…" A nervous laugh, nearly lost as they entered the crowd. He caught her last word though. "Exploded."

"Who… You what now?"

"I dunno. Didn't get her name because she was too busy yelling at-"

"You!"

"Oh no, not again!" Ruby jumped, her clothing rippling as she spun to find the coming threat. While the girl did, in fact, find Ruby first and start with what seemed like a long tirade, Jaune didn't catch a word. He was mesmerized. Girls from his village just didn't look like this one - porcelain skin, angular features, perfectly manicured nails, shimmery, silky hair… even the scar that stretched over her eye seemed like it was exactly where it should be.

"Jaune." Ruby gripped his arm and used him as a shield. Whatever words he tried to respond with were lost when the angel tried to pursue her unwilling target around the unwitting male, brochure in hand. A faint scent of vanilla in the air. "Jaune, help me."

"Uh."

"Great!" This time, her eyes settled on him. Her tone was accusatory. "Hide behind this _neanderthal_."

"Jaune make her leave."

"I-I'm a natural blonde you know."

Smooth _._ Was that the _best_ he had _?_

"...What?"

Yes, in fact, while she was that close it was the best he could think of. All of his thoughts were focused acutely on that gentle curve of her jaw, and the annoyed look in her eyes that just fit her.

"Good, you've got her on the defensive!" Ruby chimed in a whisper, like she was some sort of boxing coach. "Now hit her with the ol' one-two!"

"Uh."

"Just tell your friend," The white haired girl ground between her teeth. Her perfect, pearly teeth. The brochure was pressed firmly into his breastplate, but when he didn't reach up to take it, the girl moved his hand for him. Soft. Warm. "To not come near me. _Ever_ again."

And then she was gone, and he mourned her passing.

"Oh you're a lifesaver." Ruby half-collapsed against him, before removing herself entirely and brushing her skirts off. "I thought I was done for. You're like a knight in shining armor!"

"Who was she?" The reply came far later than he had intended. Jaune only shot Ruby a glance, much preferring the retreating figure of beauty. "I should have asked her name…"

"I don't know it. She's apparently some daughter of some big shot."

"Huh. How do you know that?"

"Because she's really mean." Jaune removed his sight from the already disappeared girl to find Ruby pouting. She hunched her shoulders and pursed her lips, her eyes trailing right. "I just want to make it up to her. Repair bridges, you know? Normal knees."

Normal knees? One quick and hidden glance told him that Ruby's knees were, in fact, as knee-like as they came. Instead, Jaune nodded."Right, makes sense. I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Uh huh…" The short girl fell silent, slouching down again. She remained that way for several moments, blowing air through her lips before her mood spun one-eighty once again. "Oh! I recognize that person!"

"Huh? Like a friend of yours?"

"I wish!" Following her pointing finger, Jaune's eyes fell onto a girl in shining gold and hearty reds. She stood in a relaxed pose, one hand on her hip and her gaze moving to examine everyone who passed by. "That's Pyrrha Nikos. _The Pyrrha Nikos_!"

"Py-what now?"

"Do you live under a rock!? Four time champion of the Mistral Regional tournament!"

A pursed set of lips and a shrug.

"Top of her class at Sanctum?"

"That's a school, right?"

"Have you ever eaten Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes?" Ruby seemed to be grasping now, looking at her hands as if the right explanation was hidden in her skin. It felt silly, but Jaune shrugged anyway. "A long time ago… Maybe? Got a hoodie out of all the box tops..."

"Where are you even from?" Her delivery was one of disbelief, like the thought of not eating sugary cereals was absolutely appalling. Which maybe she thought it was? "Space?"

"Woad… Couple kilometers south of the Agriculture district…" He did feel foolish. Was this supposed to be common knowledge? "I'm pretty sure our prime export is herbs… for like, cooking."

"Like spices and stuff?"

"No… herbs… it's the leafy stuff." Jaune blinked twice, his words slowing and trailing the longer he spoke. "Spices come from the stems…"

"Right. I didn't know that." And surprisingly, she didn't seem weirded by the new knowledge. "Learn something new every day."

"Yeah." A chuckle escaped him. Though, as much as he'd like to detail out his knowledge of cooking ingredients, minimal as it was, Jaune's eyes were drawn elsewhere. A bright blonde head of hair, her arm waving widely and her voice closing over the distance. "Ruby!" The elder sister called, "Over here!"

"Oh! Yang!" The hooded girl twisted towards him with an apologetic look, already moving. "Sorry, gotta go, bye!"

"Uh." Though he held his hand up for her to wait, she'd already sifted through the crowd and left him to his lonesome. Frowning, Jaune scuffed his shoe into the concrete. "Okay…"

A tapping sound followed soon after, then a whine of feedback. A man stepped fully up to the plate, towering over the assembled below. His can tapped down onto the hollow ground, an echoing sound following the impact. With one look toward the short woman flanking his right side, the gray haired man pressed his tiny glasses up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat.

"I will keep this brief." He started, his voice smooth, deep, and commanding. The assembled students, Jaune included, fell silent. "You come here in search of power, be it in the form of knowledge or the honing of your craft. This power you plan to use by dedicating your life to the protection of the people. But I look at you and see… wasted energy.

"This is nothing negative, however, it simply says that you need to be given a path. Purpose. Direction. Now you may assume that power, in whatever form, will free you, or that we at Beacon will provide you with this direction. We will not. Instead, we offer you an opportunity. A foot in the door." He paused, most likely for dramatic effect. "But it is up to you to cross the threshold."

While the words echoed over the silence, while the woman who had been at his right hand took his place. "Students, if you may gather in the ballroom for the night. Initiation will take place tomorrow morning, where you would be evaluated. Dismissed."

Though he was certain that he was included among the dismissal, Jaune remained still as a rock. The Headmaster had a way with words, not only in the sense that his speech had, for all it was worth, put him in his place. No, the moment he had started talking was the most impressive - Every student had gone completely _silent_. That alone was something that impressed him, mostly because he knew how his peers were. Neither silent nor respectful listed among words he would use to describe them. The stillness subsided quickly enough, along with the process of his thoughts. Instead he chose to hurry along behind the assembly to avoid being lost(again), as well as to look like he was fitting in(for once).

The ballroom was a tall and wide room, much larger than many if not all of the _buildings_ from his hometown of Woad. It was an impressive enough sight, nearly as much as the fact that every inch of floor space was taken by his peers. Hundreds of faces that were moving animatedly in a variety of actions; talking, staring, reading or, somehow, sleeping. Jaune took the first empty spot he could find, fit between two much taller boys, and settled his bags onto the floor.

From it, he withdrew the pajamas that he had hastily packed and found… the only thing he had hoped to leave behind; his onesie. The blonde frowned at the object, brow furrowing while he weighed the pros and cons of simply sleeping in his armor. _This is much more comfortable._ Was his decision, hefting the powder blue garment along with the rest of his things and trudging his way to the marked changing area - A locker room, where he found his name on a list along with a combination and a number.

Changing out if his armor was much quicker than the opposite, the pesky straps falling away as if he hadn't spent an hour getting the damn things on. Once he was suited up, including the attached bunny slippers, he flicked through the combination for his assigned lockers and stored his gear, settling Crocea Mors onto a suspiciously perfectly shaped mantle last.

The walk back to his chosen sleeping area was far more embarrassing. At first it was nothing special, but like any oddity in a group of teenagers, he soon found himself at the forefront of giggles, laughs, and stares. At one point he heard the feline sound of a female growling at him, but his joy soon turned to disappointment when the blonde whose shoes he had nearly ruined switched to a 'blech.' A quick glance told Jaune that he'd ruined Yang's view of two shirtless teens wrestling.

Not even a pity look from her either. Life was so cruel.

Still he survived the walk to his blankets. To his side came a tirade of chatter emanating from a redheaded girl who seemed glued to a boy his age. It was a bucket of crazy for another day. His priority was to get away, which was accomplished by sinking down beneath his blankets and half hiding his embarrassing attire from the crowd _and_ the hyperactive girl. _It's comfortable,_ Jaune reasoned, _one day they'll see, and then I will laugh._

The thought did little to comfort him as he felt his eyelids go heavy. Sleep soon followed the sensation, dreamless and fleeting.

* * *

 **Starter chapters are so short.**

 **Alright, next chapter should be up soon. It'll likely be longer than these first two.  
**

 **Lemme know what you think.  
** **-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Writer;** Character Voice.

This is an easy one for Fanfiction, or it should be if people were better at characterization. We know these characters because we've seen them in Canon. Pyrrha is a shy girl, but confident in her abilities and polite to a fault. Ruby is a dreamer, who wants to be a hero and save everyone. Yang is an aggressive girl, we generally know how she reacts to certain situations. Nora's exciteable, Ren is introspective, Weiss is a thorned Heart-of-Gold, Blake is quiet and bookish. This is characterization, but in writing it needs to be reflected as the characters voice as well, because otherwise every chapter between PoVs feel the same. A fantastic example is Coeur's writing, any story that has multiple PoVs, or even between the stories. Stress Relief(really good, even if the pairing is hated among Arkos fans) reads way differently than, say, Professor Arc, because the character voice is established early and strongly.

You ever have a friend who you could always imagine what they would say or do in any given circumstances, even if they weren't with you? How about things you can't imagine them saying? That would be having a good sense of that person's voice.

Character voice, at it's definition, is essentially having the actions a character take reflect what the reader thinks it should in that situation. This is much, much more noticeable in first person perspective, as the writing follows along with the characters thoughts and beliefs, as well as the way he/she processes information. In third person, it's more noticeable in action and dialogue, but proper writing allows it to shine through in-between the lines as well.

As a Fanfiction writer, even though I've changed Jaune to be a bit more competent, he's still Jaune. He stutters and flushes around pretty girls or in response to flirting, that's something you expect, right? But it goes deeper when it comes to fiction, more notably when it comes to my style of writing which encompasses a bit of the character in the writing. I change vocabulary and word choice based on the character. Jaune's got an optimistic viewpoint, but he's self depreciating, so you want him to have good thoughts but contrast them. You see this in the last section with Yang and his 'life is so cruel' comment, then his thoughts on everyone finding out onesies are comfortable. It's small, very small, but it's important in order to develop character voice.

Another good example would be using idioms based on where they're from. Jaune's from a country city, so he's likely to use similes that talk about animals or plants, while city boys would reference urban environments; lamp posts, for example. There's also things like 'What now?' that he's said a few times when someone talks about something he doesn't know about. "Py-what now?"

In the next chapter, we switch PoVs to the other main character of the story. One thing you'll notice is that there are going to be bigger words, of course, but you're going to notice a really stark difference once we hit the fight scenes. Jaune is a rookie at fighting, while our other PoV character is familiar. Ergo, Jaune will not catch the little things that matter in a fight between skilled opponents, unlike our other PoV character.

Character voice is not just the words that come from their mouth - It is their point of view on the world.


	3. Pyrrha I

**I know, I know. One chapter after I just posted one yesterday? I didn't have a busy day, or a good one, so I wrote. It's therapeutic.**

And now we're getting into Initiation. Anyone who remembers how it went down will have a pleasant surprise this go around.

 **-Phoenyx**

* * *

Vale was an absolutely wonderful place, much different than the cliffs of her homeland. She felt herself swell with amazement with each new discovery. The architecture was easily modern and urban in the city, but sleek and classy the closer to Beacon you looked. While the daytime had given her a clear view of the skies and people, the night held a completely different type of beauty; the city that refused to sleep. Pyrrha Nikos was nearly glued to the window, her hands planted firmly into the sill as to keep her from barreling face first through the panes. It wouldn't make for a very grand first impression, even if everybody already knew her name. A flickering of lights came from an overpass, just barely in view even with the clear night and cloudless sky. Each way she looked was another intricate flickering of colors. Almost like the wisps you could find in the forests between outlying towns. Foxfire.

Her lips pursed to the side, wiggling back and forth across her face as she imagined what it would have been like to dance among the trees. Freedom. An exhale of breath followed the thought, leaving a fading circle of fog over the glass. _One day, perhaps._ Pyrrha pushed herself off of the window sill, adjusting her breastplate until it was comfortable again and continuing her path down the halls with the rest of her peers. As she was accustomed, the braver ones greeted her and complimented her. Their honeyed words were replied with a practiced smile and a truly sincere 'thank you', even if their conversation seemed limited to her accolades. Her mother had told her that making friends should be easy and natural, like breathing, especially for someone like her. Pyrrha couldn't help but disagree. Everybody asked about her tournaments, her thoughts on the Headmaster's speech, or if they could have a picture with her; all of which she tried to oblige. Nobody asked how she felt, or if her day was going okay, or about her hobbies. Nobody cared that she ornamented her own armor, or that she liked to tinker with the mechanics of Miló.

It was an unfortunate side effect of fame… well, that and the tabloids always scooping for another shot or another story. One more thing she had to thank Vale and Beacon. None of the news here knew or cared who she was... At least, not yet. Eventually, someone would discover where she had gone. She was bound to turn heads after time had passed - She always did. Hopefully her team, whoever they may turn out to be, would be forgiving. Maybe she'd even get a little lucky and they would steal the limelight from her even for a moment.

She found reprieve from the students who knew her in the form of the locker rooms. Most of the people were far too busy arranging their lockers, adjusting their gear, or talking to their friends to pay her any mind. Pyrrha slipped between their notice with a fleeting freedom, hurrying to the locker set aside for her and pulling the metal container open. She deposited half of her belongings in, stashing both Miló and Akoúo against the back wall and making to begin removing her boots when a voice interrupted her.

"Hey, you're Pyrrha Nikos. Right?" The cheery tone belonged to a blonde, one that was just pulling off her own boots. Her lilac eyes met Pyrrha's, a smile framing her face. Pyrrha met it with a practiced one of her own. "My sister made me watch your fights. Impressive stuff."

Ah, more talk of her accolades. Still, compliments were compliments. _Chin up, maintain eye contact, do your best to sound grateful._ "Why, Thank y-"

"I can't wait to face you myself." She continued as if she wasn't interrupting. It irked the redhead, even as she tried to ignore the rudeness. "It will be great to face someone that can take a punch from me."

"I'm looking forward to it then." The Champion folded her hands over her stomach, trying to puzzle out the other girl. The words should and very easily could have been cocky, but they had come out as a simple statement of fact. "I hope we can learn from each other."

"You're very formal." The blonde replied after a pause, her hands removing her second boot and dropping it next to the first. "Ah, and I forget. I'm Yang. The girl hiding around the corner trying not to get spotted-" Yang gestured to the side with her thumb, where a pair of silver eyes disappeared around the corner. "-is my sister, Ruby. She's a little shy."

"So I can see." Pyrrha noted with a slight giggle. Yang's smile only grew, but no more words came from her. Using the time she was allotted before somebody else inevitably noticed her, the Champion pulled away the segments of her armor. She dressed nearly as quickly as she'd undressed, light clothes that would keep her comfortable through the night. As much as it surprised her, the silence lasted all the way until she was strolling through the ballroom searching for a free space to claim.

Many of her peers offered her a spot near them, but each of them was gratefully declined in favor of somewhere quieter. It took her a few minutes more than she may have liked, but when she found her little corner of the room, she was quick to spread out her bedding and settle herself into a comfortable seat on the cushion. While she waited for the lights out, she twirled a lock of her hair through her fingers and hummed a melody. Her eyes ran over the assembly of students, noting pairs of wrestling boys - no doubt trying to prove their bravado and strength - to where the girl she'd previously met, Yang, was spurring them on with comments and suggestions - loudly, much to what looked like Ruby's chagrin.

Past them were sets of boys and girls of every shape and size. A pair were juxtaposed in nearly every way; a calm boy in muted colors meditating while a cheery, brightly colored girl bounced around him and talked nonstop. Near them, a blonde in a powder blue bunny onesie was inching himself a bit further away from the previously noted bundle of energy with a nervous look.

Pyrrha watched him for a moment as he slipped under his blankets and disappeared, leaving her eyes wandering again. She spotted a girl in fine white clothing, no doubt one of the Schnee family as evidenced by the snowflake adorning her nightclothes. She made a mental note of that - the Schnee were great contributors to her tournament days, going as far as to sponsor her after she'd won her first victory without so much as a scratch.

They were notoriously hard to get along with, by what she'd heard, yet Pyrrha had only met with the head of the family. The 'playdate' that he'd scheduled between her and the youngest two had fallen through. She still remembered their names, one boy and one girl. _You must be Weiss, then._

Hopefully the Schnee heiress would understand her plight about fame.

With a sigh, Pyrrha moved forwards to stretch herself out under her blanket. So far, the day hadn't been terrible. She'd made at least two acquaintances, had one planned for the next day. Not to mention she had to go through initiation and be put on a team, which could mean three new people to befriend. It should be simple enough. Friends were often made by simply being in close proximity to one another, right? All she had to do was be herself… right...?

Maybe she was overthinking this whole friends thing. Best to just let everything work out as it will.

She spun to her side, resting her head on her arm and pulling her circlet from under her hair. It glinted at her, as if taunting her memory in forgetting to put it into her locker. She half-glared at the adornment, before dipping it under the covers with her and hiding it away from any unsavory or prying eyes. Better to not get anything stolen on her first day, much less something her mother had given her. Pyrrha would be quite cross if such events unfolded, much more if it were due to her forgetting something so simple. With her hair free, she spread the red tresses over the blanket behind her, basking in the tingling, released feeling over her scalp - one of her favorite parts of always tying her hair back so tightly.

With a final sigh, she hugged the circlet to her chest and closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, the sunrise was attempting to peek its way through the wide windows above. True to habit, Pyrrha sat up with an overhead stretch, dropping her circlet onto her lap and suppressing a pleased groan as the stretch sent relief through her back and arms. For a moment she sat with her eyes closed, enjoying the slowly fading pleasure that her sleep had brought. Without the necessity of sight, her hands pulled her hair back with practiced motions, binding it back and replacing the circlet onto her forehead. The warm metal did wonders to help her feel awake, though she was accustomed to it being cold when she first donned it every morning.

While she was up far before the rest of her class, as evidenced by the chorus of breathing and snoring all around, there was no use in trying to cuddle back up under her covers and sleep for any longer. Her body just wouldn't allow it. Instead, Pyrrha took to folding up the blankets and padding into neat little piles. Once that was done, she strode over to the area designated for them and settled them into place. Despite how careful she was to keep things tidy, there was no doubt in her mind that it would devolve into nothing more than a graveyard of colors and fabric by the end of the morning. Truly, she sympathised with the staff member who had to dig through it all, much less sort it. The neat little pile she had left was unlikely to inspire more of the same, but she could always hope.

Finding herself with a bit of free time, Pyrrha returned to her locker room and changed into her usual gear again. With each strap and knot, she felt more and more normal, more comfortable in her second skin. Once she was reunited with her armor, her weapons strapped into place on her back, the champion stretched once more. Then, while adjusting her gear to be comfortable, she strode out into the halls of Beacon with the intention to explore.

Her exploration didn't last as long as she'd hoped, though she was easily able to catalog the important rooms of the school into her head. It was divided into separate wings for each of the type of activity, classrooms, dorms, cafeteria, and even combat. Quite an interesting design compared to Mistralian schools, which were limited in class space. The combat and training arenas more than made up for academic negligence, but she had been sure to spend her time equally.

A bell chimed once the clock hit eight, the sun shining through the window - it was time for the initiation. Pyrrha was sure to bask in the momentary flickers of warmth during her walk to the area that had been described to her on the flight in. Once she had made it out into the open and spotted the procession of her peers, she was quick to join them. She fell into step behind the assembled group, hoping to stay as incognito as her golden armor and bright hair would allow her.

It didn't work.

"Pyrrha Nikos." A white haired girl fell back to walk alongside her, fingers splayed out and pressed against each other. "A pleasure to finally meet you. I am Weiss Schnee."

"The pleasure is mine, Ms. Schnee."

"Please, call me Weiss." The heiress smiled, one that flickered between honest friendliness and hard practice. "I should hope that we become good friends."

Something swelled inside of Pyrrha's stomach. Hope. "That would be grand, Weiss."

"Us powerful, popular people must stick together, after all." The hope withered, "I wonder, have you given any thought to who you might like to be partnered with? I've been _accosted_ several times now by this neanderthal, but I prefer the company of one such as yourself."

"I was planning on simply allowing the pieces to fall where they may." She held onto a grain of hope that Weiss would catch onto her meaning; she did not want someone who was only interested in her fame, fortune, or skill. Weiss, to her credit, did not miss a beat. "Well, I was hoping that we could be partners. With our combined skill, we would be unstoppable. Not to mention our intelligence"

"That would be grand." The words fell flatter now, but Weiss seemed to miss the lack of enthusiasm. The heiress was, instead, lost in her own self-interested, triumphant thought. Pyrrha could practically see the lightning and thunder around her head. The rest of the walk was filled with mindless chatter about various topics, most of which were centered around Weiss and her various achievements. It went on to how Weiss would make a great partner, and how Pyrrha would benefit as greatly as she would from their partnership.

It left her empty, and she was all too glad when Professor Goodwitch addressed the group. "Children, if you would please take your place on the launch pads so that we may begin."

"Launch… pads?" A blonde to her left asked, nervousness clear in his tone. Did he not know? "You mean like… _launch_ launch?"

"Indeed. You will be flying." The Headmaster this time, his movement through the remaining crowd of students slow and deliberate. "I am sure that many of you have heard rumors as to the assigning of teams. Allow me to put this talk to rest. You will be assigned partners, and teammates. Today."

A short, black haired girl to the left of the blonde made a whimper.

"This partner, and this team, will be a part of your life at Beacon from here on. So it is imperative that you find someone with which you work well."

Another whimper, this one higher in pitch.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner."

"Whaaat!? B-but..." The tiny hooded girl whined, even as the redhead between Pyrrha and her leaned forward to yell at the quiet boy she had been accosting last night. "Told you!"

"Can we uh… go back to this flying thing." The blonde rubbed his hands together in front of his chest. "Do we get like… parachutes or something?"

"No." The Headmaster's curt response was augmented by the sound of a launch pad, followed by a brown and yellow blur fading in the distance. Pyrrha readied her weapons, though she couldn't help but feel worried for the blonde as he kept talking. "Oh, okay."

"Don't worry, Jauney," The redhead hopped up and down on her plate. "I'm sure things will be fine. We might be new friends, so it might be a bit weird to hear this from me, but I'll say it anyway. You seem bouncy enough!"

"What Nora means to say is that she thinks you'll be just fine." The quiet boy added from his side.

"Right…" It didn't look like it comforted him any. Another plate sprung. The hand that he had resting on the hilt of his blade tightened until the teen's knuckles were white as bone. "So… about this landing strategy… did you guys hand out brochures or-" whatever word he had next came out as nothing more than a surprised scream as his plate bucked beneath him and introduced him to the air. The Headmaster regarded his flight with disinterest, taking one sip from his mug. The redhead just waved at his disappearing, flailing body.

Pyrrha frowned at the man, but ensured her shield was strapped firmly onto her arm and kicked the plate release herself. If they weren't going to help him, the she would have to. The sudden rush of air forced her eyes to slits, so she maneuvered her shield into place and cut off a good majority of the wind. Her eyes scanned her trajectory, her mind at work to judge the distance and path she would take.

Then, she found the flailing figure of her peer, his shield out. That brought another frown - he should have thought of the air it would catch. One look told her that unless she landed in the next twenty or so seconds, he was going to beat her to the forest floor, and likely wouldn't survive judging by the current circumstance. So, with a nudge from her polarity, Pyrrha sighted the nearest tree and adjusted her path.

She crashed through the thick wood shield first, driving the metal through it with the help of her Semblance like a battering ram. Her momentum she killed with a roll over the wide branch and a stomp of her foot as she came to her full height. The scope of her rifle came to her eye out of habit, but she dropped it in favor of spinning her weapon around her arm and triggering the spear form.

One thumb came into the air as her weapon spun and transformed, testing the local wind - none. The tree leaves in the distance flicked to her right, so she adjusted for that, reared her arm back and triggered the rifle end of the spear as she threw. The weapon shot out in a blur and soon disappeared over then into the canopy. There was a muted sound of impact in the distance, and a echoing "Thank you!" over the sudden silence. Relief flooded through her, as well as anxiety that she'd been suppressing. A thousand 'what ifs' went through her mind, but she pushed them back. _No use in concentrating on what could happen,_ Her mother had once told her, _concentrate on what you can do._

"I'm sorry!" She called back with a wave, as she was certain that being pinned out of a free fall had most definitely hurt. With one final glance at the Headmaster, whose face was unreadable at the distance, Pyrrha stepped over the edge and fell into the Emerald Forest below.

It was time to meet her partner.

* * *

 **Stark differences between this and canon now. I'll talk about this more in the ATFAW section below.  
**  
 **Lemme know what you think, and tell me if you noticed the difference in character voice in this chapter. It should feel different, but not like another author is writing it.**

 **-Phoenyx**

Advice for the Aspiring Writer;

The Butterfly Effect

Everything you change for a Fanfiction matters in the whole of the story. This effect is just as prevalent in your personal stories or novels, but it's much more as a background than in Fanfiction.

When doing any story based off of someones idea, you can only follow canon for so far before it becomes boring. Why? Because we know the story. This is why most novelizations have minor changes and additions, because following directly along can be boring. I'll cite the Halo novel, The Flood. This novel follows along with the game pretty closely, but William C. Dietz does an amazing job with adding just enough that it doesn't feel like it's just a guide to the game.

Keep in mind what you change from Canon, and try to play out how that would have an affect on the story. Want good examples? Once again I point you to Coeur Al'aran. All of his stories divulge based on the Butterfly Effect. Remember that Chaos Theory had a part to play; not everything has a logical line of action, some changes will have small effects even if it's a large change, and some the opposite. Stories are dynamic, and the Chaos Theory deals with dynamic systems... though it's mathematical and not creative, so take that with a grain of salt.

In BMS, as it is an AU, I can start out canon and diverge greatly, as I have and will. All I've done is nudged around events a little here so far; Weiss meets Pyrrha outside of the lockers. Jaune flirts with Weiss off screen to Pyrrha, instead of in front of her, which means she doesn't receive any of his attention at all or even know his name. The placements of the launch pads are different. These small things mean something, whether it be red herring or an actual foreshadow to change.

The launch pads are mixed simply because I couldn't remember if Pyrrha was on their left or their right. All I remember is Yang going first. I think Cardin was there... but I don't think he said anything, so I didn't mention him because he's not important right now.

There's one pretty good change that I'm sure you might have noticed. Can anyone tell me what it is? I'll give you a hint that it's relevant to both of our main characters.


	4. Pyrrha II

**Hey.**

 **No long A/N. Not feeling great. But I know FFNet isn't sending update emails, so I'm not exactly expecting much from posting until they start again.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

The Grimm below didn't see her coming. The first one took the full brunt of her weight, all of which was driven through the shield that crushed the beast's skull before it would have been able to react. Pyrrha turned that downward momentum into a roll off of the decaying corpse of her first target, coming up to her feet with a whip of her arm that sent Akouo gliding through the air in what seemed like a harmless toss of a frisbee to her.

The shield ricocheted off the torso of the second Beowulf hard enough to put it on its back, guided by her Semblance into the roaring mouth of a third. It fell silent at the new obstruction, which let the champion hear the coming threat. She dipped below the claw that was set to tear her head off of her shoulders, then dove to the side of another charging Beowulf, calling her shield back with her polarity and coming off of the roll into one of her ready stances.

Without Milo, she felt nearly naked and defenseless. Under normal circumstances, she would put top priority on retrieving her famed weapon, but it was currently lodged in a tree some hundred meters away. Hopefully, still holding up that blonde out of harm's way. One of the remaining two Grimm snarled and charged, closing the distance in order to meet her shield that much quicker. Pyrrha brought the weapon overhead and forced a meeting between steel and skull mid-charge. The force behind the blow put the Beowulf down for good, and a single precise kick to the furry neck removed the final bit of opposition from her mind.

 _Better to keep alert._ She instructed herself, _If there are Beowulf in this forest, there are likely Ursa._

It would be remiss, and likely irresponsible of her to miss an Ursa. By what she had heard, they were big, mean, and loud. Likely to stand out among the browns and greens. Flicking the blood and fur off of her golden shield, with only a slight of distaste, Pyrrha placed Akouo firmly into its place on her back and took towards her quarry with a jog. Provided the Emerald Forest wasn't Grimm infested, it would be quite a nice place for a walk. Vibrant greens and browns, all the more pronounced by both shadow and sunlight.

She had always enjoyed forests when she had traveled. It was unfortunate that her place of birth was fairly barren of them. There were plenty of swamps and cliffs in Mistral, but the former was far too humid and the latter was far too lifeless. She preferred the capital, with its tiered construction, bustling streets, and flowing canals. A shame she couldn't walk it anonymously.

Homesickness welled in her heart, so she redirected her thoughts to the task at hand. A set of bushes gave way to her arms, her aura resisting the thorns and bristles that attempted to scratch at her smooth skin. Three steps into the clearing she stopped, tracing her eyes up a tree until her gaze came onto the teen she'd pinned. Milo held fast even as he had lifted himself up to essentially hug the spear, trying to push his hood down the length of the shaft and free himself.

Pyrrha set her hands on her hips and did her best to not giggle at the concentrated look on his face. "It would be easier to just pull the spear out."

In response to her voice, the blonde let out something between a screech and a help, jumping so violently that his leg slipped from around the handle and swinging him down like a pendulum. Gravity and momentum brought the full weight of him and his armor towards the butt end of her spear and physics took care of the rest. The spear angled downwards and slipped from the tree, the male already plummeting towards the ground.

He hit first, and Milo would have followed business end down had Pyrrha not recognized the threat and sprinted the distance to catch her weapon before it ended a life. "Oh my, sorry! Sorry…"

"Ow." Her new partner groaned, wriggling on his back and cracking an eye to meet hers. "By my blood, you scared me."

That's what he was concerned about, not his back? Her question was answered when he didn't follow up, instead forcing himself into a sitting position and leaning his back against the tree. "Are you okay?" She knelt down to put herself at his level, worried that she might have inadvertently harmed him in a way that might be detrimental to his performance in initiation. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's perfectly fine." He replied, though it didn't look it judging by the pain on his face. His aura would heal it soon enough. "Better a bit of pain then to have gravity give me a hug."

"I suppose." She frowned and opened her mouth to ask him his name when a trio of cracks echoed through the trees. The blonde stiffened, his eyes opening to check the surroundings. Pyrrha shot a single glance towards the source of the sound. "Gunfire, it seems our comrades have engaged the enemy."

"We should go." The blonde pushed himself to his feet with a grimace. "Hate to be Grimm food. I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc." He extended his hand to shake. She took it with a smile. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

"I'm sure they do." As cheesy and likely overused as the line was, Pyrrha felt her smile widen,"I'm Pyrr-"

"Pyrrha Nikos. So I've been told." Jaune smiled back, but Pyrrha's grin dropped along with her hand. Some light she didn't realize she'd felt from their meeting vanished. Of _course_ he knew who she was. "Listen, I'm not going to be anywhere near your level…"

"Don't worry about it." She waved him off with a polite, practiced smile. "Just keep up and recover from your fall, I can handle anything this forest throws at us."

"What if it's a Deathstalker?"

"I can handle _most_ things this forest throws at us." She amended, frowning. His accent was distinctly from Vale, or from around it, which meant he likely knew of the type of Grimm that inhabited the forests better than she did. Which means that he should have at least a bit of practice fighting or fleeing from them. "Are Deathstalkers common in these areas?"

"I've never seen one." Jaune gestured towards the forest, an 'after you' motion, so she began their trek. "But my sister has told stories. Scary stuff. Big claws, large stinger, tough as nails."

"Sounds like something to avoid."

"Yeah." He trailed the word, "You ever see one?"

"Only in books. They're not around where I'm from."

"Mistral, right? That explains the accent."

"Accent?" Pyrrha shot him a glance, intending to ask about her accent but stopping when she noticed the way he slouched and held a hand on his back. They had been walking for a good time now, his Aura should have… "Jaune, why hasn't your Aura mended your body?"

"My what now?"

"Your Aura." She enunciated, her brows furrowing and her lips set in a frown. There was no way… He simply gave her a blank look. "Gesundheit."

"Jaune…" Pyrrha tried for gentle, but she was certain her words hit like the slash of a sword judging by how he jumped. "You _do_ know what Aura is. Right?"

"Eh? _Pssh_ , of course I know what Aura is." His voice didn't sound convincing, even as he waved a hand at her. "Do- Do you know what Aura is?"

This was unbelievable. Aura was taught the very first two _years_ at Sanctum. Pyrrha schooled her expression to neutrality and examined him up and down. Two possibilities came to mind, he was either really lucky to make it into _Beacon_ of all places without even the rudimentary knowledge of Aura, or he was so strong that he actually had no idea that he was at a disadvantage. The male squirmed under her gaze and flushed, something that forced her to note exactly _how_ she was staring. Then her face felt warm in return. She cleared her throat. "Aura is the manifestation of our souls. It shields our bodies and our hearts…"

Jaune's brow furrowed. "Souls?"

"Provides us with the strength to fight the Grimm, and protect those we care for." His interruption earned him a frown, yet he didn't make to speak again. "Without Aura, none of us would be able to do the incredible things that Huntsman are known for."

"That makes sense. That explains the crazy stuff my sisters do." Jaune scratched at his jaw for a moment, his eyes flicking to her for a moment. While the gears turned in his head, Pyrrha sighed with a tight smile. She knew what he was going to ask, and her choice was obvious. "Close your eyes and relax."

He did as he was told despite his obvious hesitation. She moved forwards and placed a thumb on both his chest and his forehead, reaching into the core of her soul to pull gently at the power thrumming within. She spoke an invocation as she sent tendrils of her soul into his, probing for the light she knew she would find. It felt far too intimate to be comfortable, given her status and the fact that they were mere acquaintances, yet she tied those tendrils onto the natural barriers holding his Aura fast and pulled during the final words of her invocation. "... and by my shoulder, I protect thee."

His power, pure and immense, sent a wave of conflict through her body and soul. It muddied her mind and scattered her thoughts, flashed images and emotions across her that she soon came to realize belonged to him - his past, his present, his potentials. Who he was at his core. Pain and catharsis, ecstasy and agony. Followed by numbness and a flash of fire and steel, a sight of man who would stand against a tide of black with his blade alone, a line of knights gathered around a carved stone circle.

She shuddered and stumbled, even as he did the same and caught her. His Aura, as powerful as it was, rejected the presence of hers and left her feeling overwhelmed. But whole. "You have a lot of it." She said once they were steady, wincing and squinting at the radiant white he gave off. "How do you feel?"

"Like…" Jaune's face took on a complicated expression as he looked at her, but it was replaced by a smile. His eyes flicked to his hands and his arms, then to her as she returned to a more comfortable distance. "I feel like I could move mountains. Run a thousand miles. Leap tall buildings in a single bound. I feel good… but are you okay?"

"I am. I used a portion of my power to unlock yours." She felt sheepish to be caught so unprepared. "I just didn't expect the backlash."

"So it wasn't just me… who saw those things?" Jaune looked… shaken, almost, by what he saw.

"No. I saw them too."

"What were they?"

"Potential." She stretched her hands, feeling soreness in them. His Aura must have made her tense, or perhaps it was just an unfamiliar feeling that came with the Unlocking. It would fade. "We should continue moving. Find some of the others."

"Yeah. Good idea." Jaune nodded, stepped forward and then stopped. His head swiveled left, then right, then left again. After a moment, he started forward. "This way."

"Okay." Pyrrha followed, eyes on the surrounding area for coming threats. She was fairly certain that his direction wasn't going towards the objective, however she wasn't quite sure of how to tell him that. After ten minutes of walking alongside a rock face, she finally spoke up. "Jaune, where are we going exactly?"

"I dunno." He replied without looking, "I just have a feeling."

"Okay." Pyrrha trailed the word as Jaune came to a stop, turning left and staring at a relatively wide opening in the rock. He glanced to the side, where a picture was etched into the wall, before turning to her. "Think this is the place?"

"I don't know." She said, examining the drawing and coming to the conclusion that it looked much too much like a Deathstalker for her comfort. Still, considering that the Headmaster had been willing to send an unprepared, un-enhanced human catapulting into a dangerous forest filled with Grimm… she wouldn't put it past him to set the relics into a Grimm cave. "It's a possibility."

"I guess we gotta find out." His hands were already at work, though before she could ask what he was doing, Jaune lifted a crudely fashioned torch into her view. "I'm sure that we'll be fine."

"Right."

"I mean, you're a world class champion." He nodded at his own logic, looking back to the cave. Her expression deepened to a frown. _Right. He knows who I am. Makes sense that is what he focuses on._ Pyrrha's thunderous thoughts were interrupted. "And I'm… uh… a good meat shield. Let's go."

"I'm sure you're more than a meat shield." She chastised as they moved into the darkness of the cave. There was no need to be rude, even if she was certain that this decision wasn't entirely intelligent. But he was her partner, so she would have to trust him. The torch flickered, Jaune stopping for a moment to shoot her a surprised glance. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He looked on her for a second more before turning back around to keep moving forwards. The cave was silent, except for the sound of their armor and footsteps as the traversed the dark. A minute passed. Behind them, the light of the exit slowly dimmed and disappeared. It made her nervous. "I don't think anything is in here, Jaune."

"I made the torch, Pyrrha. Can you humor me?"

"I am humoring you."

The blonde was silent for a moment. "Oh. Right. Do you hear that?"

"I don't-" The words stopped, the champion instead opting to actually listen. It was a faint sound, almost like someone clicking something on the rock. She slowed her pace, testing to see if it was just the steps of her heels echoing. Disappointingly, it was not. "I do. That's..."

"Creepy." Jaune sighed, before one of his steps slid with a disgusting squelch sound. He yelped and slapped his hand against the wall for support, scowling in the dim torchlight. "Yuck, I stepped in… something."

 _Something_ was the proper term. When her partner dipped down to one knee and brought the torch close to the ground, he was met with blackness. At first Pyrrha thought it might be some sort of liquid, but closer inspection showed her that it was more organic. Thick, black goo that had an iridescent yellow sheen even in the orange torchlight. And it was _moving,_ like it was alive. "What on Anima…?"

"By my blood." Jaune swore at the same time, waving the flame over the substance. "This feels like bad news… like really bad news."

Pyrrha agreed.

"I… I feel like I've seen this before… somewhere." Her partner's voice was vague, different. Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." He reached down with a tentative hand, one that she was too slow to stop after she realized what he intended to do. His fingers slipped over the black, shooting back a moment later as if he'd been burned. Jaune hissed and shook his hand. The clicking in the cave went silent. That turned her nervous feeling into an anxious one. "Pyrrha?"

"Yes?" She looked to him, then followed his gaze and froze. His voice shook as she took in the eight glowing red orbs that were growing in size. "Do you feel that?"

"What?"

"Soul crushing regret." He fell silent as something came into the torch light. Wide sharp mandibles, chitin as black as any midnight, eight sharp, bladed legs. Her breath caught in her throat, and her stomach dropped. _Spider. A giant, monster spider._

If it had spotted them, she couldn't tell. It meandered in their direction, its legs clicking with each slow step. A cold, phobic sweat came to her. Jaune's wide blue eyes flicked between her and the monstrosity. "Pyrrha…"

"We should run." She whispered.

"Good idea." Jaune agreed.

And so they did. They made it four steps before whatever it was behind them let out a bone chilling screech and followed. Her heart felt like a jackhammer, each beat audible throughout her body. Jaune stumbled and dropped the torch, so she wrapped a hand around his breastplate and hauled him to his feet without pause. "This isn't the the right place, Pyrrha!" He shouted, voice an octave high. "It's not!"

She spared a glance behind her, spotting nothing but red eyes and the remnants of a dying torch. "It's gaining on us!" She cried, pushing her body further. Her Aura wavered and brightened to her call, filling her with strength. They were lucky, missing any obstacles that could have tripped or stopped one of the two of them flat.

"We'll engage it in the daylight, where we can see!" Though she was all too sure that she would prefer the Swamp Fever to fighting a _giant monster_ _spider_ , the choice was the only one that they could possibly survive. Unlocking Jaune's Aura had left her's weak, a necessary sacrifice so that he would survive… and a mistake that may ensure they both didn't.

At the time it had been wise. Felt wise. Now, she was facing the consequences of her wisdom.

The daylight was a welcome sight. Though she was partially blinded by the sunlight, Pyrrha brought Milo and Akouo to bear, spinning around and hefting her shield. Jaune followed her lead with his sword, drawing the blade and taking a position on her right. "You sure about this!?"

"No, but it's the only choice!" Her response only got a groan out of him. The beast crashed out of the small opening with its eerie clicking, thrashing its bladed legs into the ground and charging. Jaune dove left, but Pyrrha took the beast head on. The leg skittered across the shield with a screech, the girl shuddering under the force of the blow and striking back with a shot enhanced strike from Milo. The tip of the spear lodged itself no more than an inch into the carapace, something that surprised her enough that she didn't dip back quick enough to avoid the counter attack.

It took her on the stomach, her Aura the only defense that kept her from being bisected in the middle. Pyrrha felt her air leave her lungs in a huff, her weapons held tight in her grasp as she worked to recover mid flight. She'd learned her lesson long ago about losing her weapons from taking a hit, her trainer had drilled that into her plenty. She stumbled on her landing but held fast, her weapons at the ready for another strike that never came. Impossible that she couldn't pierce the shell. Milo could embed itself several feet into rock, slice through steel… She glanced at her blade, then back at the insect.

The spider had set its sights on Jaune. His style of fighting involved a lot of screaming and narrowly avoiding slashes of those dangerous legs that would likely send him flying if not outright kill him. He caught a blow on his shield and turned it aside, retaliating with a slash that made Pyrrha panic - it left him wide open. She dashed forwards, but there was no way she could make it in time. While the giant insect wasn't human and likely didn't see the same opening, it still struck out with the same claw that could have very well been the end of her partner.

Had he not swung the blade back in the opposite direction and intercepted the strike.

She expected his blade to fold under the pressure of the strike, simply because of how strong she had felt the beast before and how weak a single handed block was. The fact that he'd been able to block one of the strikes as easily as he did spoke to the physical strength that he possessed, but it wouldn't hold a candle to physics.

Which is why when Jaune's sword cut clean through the leg without resistance, lighting the wound alight into a steady blue flame, Pyrrha stumbled out of her charge in surprise more than anything. To his credit, her partner didn't question his fortune. Instead, he dove backwards and made his retreat from the spider as it began to thrash and screech. "I dunno what I did!" He cried, sprinting past her, "But run!"

Dumbstruck, she followed. There was no doubt in her mind that the _spider-Grimm-thing_ wouldn't stay down long. "We need to find any of the others!" She called to him, "That thing is strong and fast. Way too much for just us two."

"I vote we just keep running." Jaune broke through a set of brush, sending a glance her way. It quickly turned into a glance behind them and a loud whine. "It's coming!"

"But it's injured."

"Thing ain't injured enough!" He hefted his blade for a moment, sending the weapon a glance. "Go without me and find someone. I have an idea!"

"What? No." Pyrrha slid under a fallen tree and came to her feet. With a slash of her blade, she cut through a set of vines in her path. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I have a feeling this will work."

"I don't-" She let out a frustrated groan, her words dying when she made to give him a stern look and found nobody in sight. Pyrrha frowned. He was going to get himself killed, and she couldn't do anything about it but go find someone to help fight this thing and hope to get back in time to save him. Her aura pushed towards its limits, the champion leapt over another fallen log and crashed through more brush, listening for the sound of gunfire - anything that would lead her to some of the others.

His brash action on her mind, Pyrrha Nikos nearly felt frustrated enough to swear.

* * *

 **Starting to look familiar?**

 **For the new readers; Here we're introduced to one of the main adversaries to our characters, in the form of a giant monster spider. Should be fun.**

 **Lemme know what you think.  
** - **Phoenyx**

 **Tips for the Aspiring Author -** Power Levels in Stories

As a great majority, people suck at overpowered protagonists. Sure, God Character fics can be entertaining, but as a great whole they're not intensely popular because the action is great or because his power is cool, they're often popular because of gimmick pairings or some ridiculous harem that provides more comedic relief than anything. When you get down into the gritty action and adventure stories, you don't want a protagonist that always has the answer. You want to see him struggle, grasp, win by the skin of his teeth and lose by mountains. Sometimes you want them to sell their soul, other times you want to see exactly how brilliant he can be with a good plan or an even match up.

Mostly, people want to see characters grow to be respectful. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but they're normally done as a sort of parody to other works. See: One Punch Man.

For this, you don't need weak protagonist, you need good antagonist with well thought out powers. I'll use the Grimm as an example here; In the show, it is very inconsistent as to what power the Grimm has. Sometimes they're killing machines, other times they're nothing but canon fodder for RWBY or JNPR. This should not be the case. They're talked about in the show as if they're this mindless unstoppable horde, and yet every time we see them save for the recent finales, they've been nothing but squishy target practice. In the sake of simplicity, I'm going to write out how I see each of the Grimm that appear or will appear soon in ranking.

So first we have Beowulves. These are your horde monsters, your wolves. They rarely attack alone, often appearing in packs that can overwhelm a lesser Huntsman or Huntress. As a whole though, they're not quite tough or powerful enough to survive anyone with half a brain for fighting. Evidenced by Pyrrha getting the drop on the beasts and winning. Ursa are monumentally tougher and stronger. Unlike in the show, Yang won't slaughter Ursa after Ursa. She'll have a fight on her hands because, in accordance with their source animal, Ursa are _tough_ monsters like bears. To put it into tiers, lets imagine that Yang and Pyrrha are S Tier first years, right? They can take Ursa alone, but won't be able to do it easily, whereas anything below like Beowulves or Creeps will fall a lot easier. Now downgrade to someone like Jaune, and say he's C tier as an example. He can take Beowulves, but he'll take hits. Ursa are but a dream. Now this also doesn't take into account anything like familiarity with the fights, it's just a very general example. But this example gives you a good idea of why Pyrrha amended herself when Jaune mentioned a Deathstalker - She knows how strong it is.

But then, you ask, what about the Deathstalker? Nevermore? Well, they'll require a team. As in the show, JNPR would be required to be together to kill the Deathstalker, and RWBY for the Nevermore, and it won't go anywhere near as easily as it did. They would struggle and get injured.

So this new beast, where does it fall? Well, it killed the Deathstalker.

How do you keep a protagonist from being overpowered, or keep them from progressing too fast? Well, catalog your threats and their levels, and compare them to your character. Then ramp the character up to be able to take one threat out at a time, _over time._ So say at first, your character can kill one Beowulf without help, but he gets injured. A month later, he might be able to take a pack of them with minimal injury. Another month, he might be strong enough to take out an Ursa. A year? A pack of Ursa? Two years? A Deathstalker, easily. Learning a combat skill is just like any sort of exercise; You ramp up quickly, but you plateau in power and then very, very slowly rise. As new threats come, your character adjusts and learns. Another good thing is to _keep their faults in mind_. If your character is overconfident, he may take a fight he can't win and set back his progress by being injured, or losing faith in his own skills. Maybe he/she's used to fighting one type of opponent and doesn't know how to fight another, which brings them down to a more level encounter. In this example, I'll use Pyrrha. She knows how to fight people, because of the tournaments, but against a good majority of the Grimm, she'll be at the same level as someone like Jaune, Nora, Yang, and Ruby.

Power isn't just physical strength or fighting ability. You can very easily make your character to powerful by giving him or her connections or victories based on just being too damn smart. Cinder's an example of this in the show. Her plans relied heavily on things lining up correctly, or things not being present. I'll use her virus as an example; Where's the computer security at? You're telling me out of everything, not one person noticed a black chess piece on a terminal when they were accessing important information? This is the case of a villain that is simply too powerful for the sake of the plot. Seems a bit suspect that they have nobody watching data feeds, or checking external accesses in their networks, more-so since it's a network that connects all of the world together. I still have problems with Emerald's power, as it simply seems too strong for the world. Doesn't seem to require eye contact, distance, anything. It's only weakness seems to be that it just tires Emerald out, and it only applies to one person... and that's it?

I don't know, though. Just my two cents.


	5. Jaune III

**Hey everyone. Sorry this chapter came out so late, I was hoping the alert system would be back up and running correctly long before today. However, it did not, so I held off on this chapter until it did. A bit out of schedule, but I don't fault myself for FFNet's site issues.**

 **Enjoy.  
**

* * *

There were two ways this was going to go. Either his plan was going to work and he would have a very cool story to tell his kids one day… or he would probably die.

Either way, Jaune was certain that they couldn't outrun the monster chasing them. And though he hated to leave Pyrrha running alone, he was also sure that him dying was better than Mistral's Championship fighter. Better he than someone who could influence the world. When she distracted herself pushing branches out of her way, he slid to a stop and spun, jumping to a branch and hauling himself up the thick wood.

It creaked under his weight, but he ignored the danger in favor of maneuvering himself until his body was hidden from the coming threat. Crocea Mors left the sheath and came into his view, unassuming for what it had done before. "I hope you work this time." He muttered to the naked blade, leaning to the side to see the spider hobbling it's way over the forest floor. His plan was a simple, if somewhat stupid one - drive the blade into the thing's head by falling on top of it. He wasn't even sure it would kill it, seeing as how losing a limb hadn't slowed it down, but it was worth a shot.

When it crested the fallen log below him, Jaune dropped from the branch with a cry, dipping the point of his sword downwards and realizing at the last moment that he had miscalculated. Still, the sword slid through the carapace without resistance. Jaune impacted into the hard body with a grunt, clutching Crocea Mors in both hands as the thing below him bucked in surprise and pain. As before, the wound inflicted by the blade lit up in a light blue flame, spreading no further than where the sword touched.

What he had hoped was that his sudden cowboy ride would cause the insect thing to stop. What happened was that it instead ran _faster_ and recklessly. Intimately, Jaune found himself acquainted with brush, tree branches, and tree trunks. But, still he held. At some point, probably around the time the spider cleared the forest and rolled over to buck him off with an agility that nothing that size should have, Jaune realized that he hadn't actually stopped screaming.

War cry. It's a _war cry._ That was his story and he stuck to it.

He landed in a roll of grunts, groans, clattering armor and flailing limbs. Someone called his name, told him to move. So he did, pushing himself up just enough to dive to the side as one of the remaining bladed feet sunk itself into the dirt where he'd just been. Jaune's wide eyed glance flickered at the impact, then the spider, then where Crocea Mors lay in the grass some two meters to his side.

He had to get to it, that much was certain.

"Hey, bug brain!" A voice called, familiar as the figure who practically flew in from the side and landed a heavy punch to the side of bug brain's head as it was en route to him. At first Jaune expected nothing, but his fears were quickly dashed when the golden gauntlet discharged a blast of fire and pain onto the spider. Yang's momentum carried through, the blonde landing in a roll and coming up with his sword in her hands. She gave him a glance and a wide smile, tossing the weapon towards him and cocking one of her shotgun gauntlets.

Crocea Mors landed in the dirt, quickly snatched up by its wielder and hefted at the ready. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He sighed as Yang circled over to him. Jaune made to say more, but another voice interrupted him. His partner was heading their way, a very unhappy look on her face. "Jaune!"

"I'm fine." He reassured her, eyes back on their adversary. It thrashed and spun, striking out at a blur of black and white - another student. "We gotta kill this thing."

"What is it."

"A spider." Pyrrha answered for him. "A _giant monster_ spider."

"I guess you don't like spiders?"

"Can we save the twenty questions until after we win?" Yang enunciated with two shots from her weapon, the balls of flame arcing lazily towards their target. "Rather not lose my partner in the first day. Pretty sure that goes on my permanent records."

"Got any bright ideas?" Jaune looked between the two of them. Pyrrha shook her head, while Yang ground a fist into her palm as explanation. "Oh good. Well. It's fast, it's stupid strong… doesn't seem all that smart."

"Or flexible."

"Or flexible. Pyrrha couldn't quite pierce its shell-"

"And if Wonder Woman couldn't hurt it, what can?" Yang asked, earning an even blink from Pyrrha. Jaune took one look at his sword. He lifted it to the light. "I can. Or at least, this can."

"Neat. So what's the plan, vomit boy?"

"Well first, we help your partner. I need you to distract it so I can get close enough to cut its legs." The girls nodded, and began to charge into battle, Yang with a loud cry and Pyrrha with the sound of footfalls. Jaune… took a slower route. He moved forward at a stride, taking a circular path so that he could examine it clearly.

The spider was injured, the area where the insect would normally spin webs from lined with jagged wounds, while the puncture in its center still gave off a ghostly blue hue, a remnant of the strike he'd made. Something about either him or Crocea Mors was effective against this thing. Logically; He had just gotten his Aura today, while his sword had never cut through Grimm as easily as that, which pointed towards himself… but the odds of him getting some super power from something everyone goes through was so insanely low that he didn't bank on it.

Just the same, this Spider didn't look like any Grimm he had ever seen before. The Grimm he'd seen or learned of were animals, not insects, with fur and red blood.

This thing had black blood, it stained his gloves after all, and hard chitin, he'd felt it earlier. The only similarity were the red eyes, glowing and full of hatred. It shared the seemingly mindless way that Grimm fought, but for all he knew that was because it was injured and on its last bit of life. Pyrrha turned aside a strike with her shield and stabbed out as she retreated, which let Yang come up to its side. The insect spun and swiped out, stopping her charge in her tracks and letting the last girl pepper it with shots from a little machine pistol.

Jaune closed the distance and struck out, his blade narrowly missing the closest leg as the spider spun and struck out again. Yelping, he hopped back out of range of the sharp leg. He collided with something and went down with a sprawl, coming up on his knees and rolling out of the way of a follow up from the insect. The girl he collided with, amber eyes and a bow, shot him a sour look between her labored breaths and spun her weapon in her hand. A blade as black as night extended out, his peer leaping forwards and slashing at anything in reach. She dipped out of range when the spider thrashed and struck out wildly, unpredictable and deadly.

Each of them hefted their weapons and backed away from the whirlwind of sharp legs and hard chitin. "This thing is crazy." Yang muttered, jerking her head back as a strike came close. "More energy than Ruby."

"It's got to tire out eventually…" Pyrrha didn't sound convinced, her face white and her retreat quicker than the others. "Right?"

"I wouldn't be so sure." The third girl drawled, seeming almost bored. "Even with three injuries, it doesn't seem to be slowing down."

"I should've been a student councillor or something." Jaune sighed, "Much easier than fighting this."

"Too bad, so sad." Yang shot an experimental blast at the ravenous insect, leaping out of the way with a roll when it shrugged it off and swiped at her. The blonde growled and cocked her weapons. "Can't get close to the damn thing."

"This is a nightmare." Pyrrha said, looking quite frightened. "We should run, try to get the headmaster."

"We need to slow it down." The amber eyed girl glanced our way. "Anyone specialize in dust?"

"No." Jaune took a swipe on his shield that staggered him, forcing him to hop back away. One check behind him showed a set of saplings and brush, which meant that he couldn't maneuver it to the thick trees and disrupt its swipes. The spider stopped its strange whirlwind of attacks, seeing the new distance between it and its quarry.

"Nope." Yang shot twice again. "I could take a hit from it, which would let me hit it back harder."

"We can't get close to it after you get hit." The pale girl stated, "Not even mentioning that we don't know how hard it hits. I might be able to distract it with a clone long enough for someone to hit it. Anyone else have a Semblance that will help?"

"It's not made of metal."

"I gotta get hit first."

"I only got my Aura twenty minutes ago." That earned him a duo of blank looks, lilac and amber eyes on his. Jaune rolled his eyes and gestured toward the amber set of eyes. "Later. You, you said you can distract it?"

"My name is Blake." Her reply was curt while she drew the cartridge out of her pistol to check her ammo. "When you see it hit me, don't panic, just hit it."

"Hey, I hate to interrupt, but that thing is doing something." Yang, though she didn't sound too sorry, snapped them out of the conversation. Jaune followed her gaze to the spider, which seemed to be heaving and shaking. Then, with a sound that turned his stomach, it set it mandibles towards the earth and released more of that living black stuff from the cave on the ground

"Oh, yuck." Pyrrha grimaced. Blake kept her face impassive, while Yang had a similar expression to his partner. "Check it out, Vomit boy, it's your perfect pet."

Despite the joke that was most definitely aimed at him, Jaune's interest lay with the spider, and how the creepy black spread over the floor and up the monster's limbs. "That is gross." He stated, eyes narrowing. "And bad news."

"It's regenerating." Blake reported, her eyes wide. "Well. That's unfair."

"Not the leg Jaune cut off though. The wound isn't even closing." Pyrrha readied her weapons. "I think we stick with the same plan?"

"I don't see why not." Jaune sighed and hefted Crocea Mors. Blake gave him a wordless nod and dashed forwards, quicker than he could ever hope to move. He followed, along with the other two partners. Yang took to the right with Blake, while Pyrrha met the beast head on. It didn't take long in their surround to recognize a new problem - they were fighting in its territory. The ground below was slippery and treacherous, roots and holes hidden by the black… _stuff._

The group traded blows, attacking like Beowulves. Jaune would strike forward and pull back, then Yang from the opposite side would land a hit. Blake would strike forward, then Pyrrha would feint a strike and pull back so Blake could follow through. Unlike the plan, however, Jaune took the first hit. The claw screeched against his shield, which he had used at an awkward angle that sent the sharp leg cutting through his shoulder.

He cried out and swung his sword in a wild arc that met air, retreating back with his arm feeling tired and weak. A quick check of the damages showed a jagged slice through cloth and flesh, but no more than muscle damage… except that Pyrrha's expression worried him. The insect pushed its advantage a moment later, spinning on her and charging forwards into a moment that Jaune had not expected.

Pyrrha Nikos went white and froze.

A black ribbon whirled around her torso and jerked her to the side, while a yellow set of gauntlets intercepted the clawed leg as it made to follow. Yang snarled and wrapped her hands around the bladed limb and pulled the entire monster to the ground. Blood trickled down her forearms. "Any time now!" She cried, flicking her reddened eyes at him. The insect struggled and twisted away, in time for the same ribbon Blake had saved Pyrrha with to wrap around its head and anchor it.

His shock snapped, and his body moved on its own accord. Jaune jerked forwards, tearing the heavy shield off of his injured arm and leaving it in the grass. It would only slow him down. When he neared the beast it thrashed and swung at him. He dipped away from the wild strike, only for Pyrrha to come from his right and take the limb on her shield as it went to swipe again. He wasted no time severing the nearest leg, moving from one to the next to cripple it. "Blighted." He snarled, an uncharacteristic tone in his voice that earned him a raised eyebrow from Blake in the distance. He met her eyes for only a second, long enough to force his teeth together.

When he had removed the legs of the spider, Jaune clambered to the top of the remains of the spider and pressed the point of Crocea Mors into the center of its head. It slipped through like flowing through water, only catching resistance when it met the dirt below. There was a shared sigh of relief as the wound caught fire where the blade touched, the thing falling still while Jaune fell back to sit unceremoniously on the corpse of their fallen foe. Working to even out his labored breathing, he shot a smile to Pyrrha, who shared one back with the rest of the group.

Relief flooded through his aching body, a far more welcome feeling compared to fear. It replaced the adrenaline that he had made his body sing, but with the lack of adrenaline came the pain and fatigue. He winced and rolled his injured shoulder, doing his best to keep the movement small.

"Jaune…" His partner's smile disappeared, an indicator that she had noticed. "Let me see your shoulder."

"Huh?" The teen slid down to the ground and knelt down to stop the whining of his tired body, his hand working the cloth around his wound to the side while she approached. It was an ugly, thin cut. Jaune took the path of reassurance. "Nothing bad, it's just a flesh wound."

"A flesh wound through Aura." Yang corrected, her voice somewhere between worry and curiosity. "You _did_ say you have Aura?"

"Yeah… why, is it supposed to stop this?"

"Aren't you glad you didn't take a hit?" Blake's tone was wry, her words aimed at Yang. The blonde lifted her hands up and examined the thin cuts along both of her palms. Then, she snorted. "Okay, this sucks the big one. Not even in a good way. You could say that it's _aura_ -ble"

"We need to get this bandaged." Pyrrha winced, her eyes on Jaune's shoulder. "It's pretty deep, and it's not regenerating like it should."

"Neither are my hands." Yang added, turning her palms to the partners. "I don't think this was part of the test."

"Speaking of the test, we still need to find the temple and relics."

"You mean the giant temple?" Blake pointed over the forest canopy. "The one with the Nevermore corpse literally nailed into the side of it?"

"Is it nailed, or is it impaled?" The other blonde interjected. "Ah, I guess it's like the difference between a raven and a crow. Just a matter of _a pinion."_

Would there have been crickets, even they would not have made noise in fear of egging her on.

"What's a Nevermore?" Jaune asked, but the answer was, as Blake had observed, nailed into the temple wall by a spike of ice. "Oh. Giant bird Grimm. Cool."

"I guess we go that way?" Yang shook her hands, grimacing at the blood that dropped to the grass and blight below.

Blight… when had that word come to his mind? He glanced towards his blade, where it still sat impaled into the top of the spider's skull. The name… fit, he supposed, but he wasn't sure that he could get away with calling it that out of the gate. It was best to suggest it, he decided as his fingers wrapped around the hilt and drew his burning blade from the corpse.

"Might as well get the relics and get out of here." Jaune agreed, retrieving his shield. Pyrrha shook her head and ripped a segment of cloth off of her outfit. "I'm going to bandage your shoulder first, so you don't bleed out."

"Aw, Blakey, look at them. They're like real partners." Yang's lips split in a grin and her hands came up. "Gonna tear up some of your clothes for my cuts?"

"You've got a scarf." Blake noted dryly. Her partner's expression took on mock hurt, then a playful scoff. "I see how it is."

"I can bandage your hands as well, if you'd like." The red cloth was pulled taut around his shoulder, knotted swiftly and tested by a roll of his arm. Satisfied with her work, Pyrrha stood and turned to Yang. "It is no problem."

"No, it's alright." Yang shifted, "Just scratches. Already stopped bleeding."

"We should get moving, in case more Grimm are around." Blake, the voice of reason, sheathed her weapon. "I would like to finish our objective and get out of this forest."

"Finish our objective." Yang echoed. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk weird?"

"You have. Many times already. More than anyone ever has. We met an hour ago." Pyrrha shot him a look while Yang bickered good naturedly and Blake shut her down with flat replies. Still, they were moving again, steps closer to victory.

And more importantly for Jaune, steps closer to the rest that was sorely needed.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the reviews.**

We got a name for our adversary. We got a threat level(hint: high). I'm sure there are plenty of questions for the new readers in how this comes about. My fans from the pre-rewrite, do your best not to spoil it for them please. I, however, would love to hear any theories my old or new fans have on all of it.

So, we've got a really weighty change coming next chapter.

 **-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Author** \- Suspension of Disbelief  
Let's talk about one of the things I see fail spectacularly in Fanfiction.

Suspension of Disbelief is a key aspect of any fiction work, but it is also present across many other things in the world. For the sake of not barraging you with philosophy, let's stick to fiction. The definition is in the name; the limit to which a person can suspend ones critical faults over aspects of a story in order to believe the unbelievable. It factors highly into the enjoyment and immersion into the world.

It all starts with grounding yourself and your story. Considering the logical progression of your plot, characters, and world. For some people, they'll focus on the science of the characters, others will be pulled out by plot holes, and others by personal preference when it comes to action or otherwise. If you create a mage who can teleport with no drawback, or very little, then there's no reason for him to sprint in a tense situation. But you can provide reasons that he'll walk alongside friends instead of simply teleporting to the intended location. It sounds believable.

If you make a character that can control fire, then there's very little reason for that character to rely on his fists in a fight to the death.

These are pretty broad examples, but the point should be clear.

So how do we avoid breaking the suspension? We make rules. Worldbuilding, characterization, plot points. All of these have a say in whether or not your story can be believed within the bounds of itself. Now obviously you don't have the killer moves like team RWBY in the real world, but in the RWBY verse, it's established and gives a very good weight of belief towards Ruby flipping around Crescent Rose for hours. Or Jaune taking the brunt of an Ursa blow on his shield without staggering.

But I can provide an example that pulled me out of the story; Yang losing her arm in one strike. Here's why; We had no indication of one of two possible reasons - Either Adam's sword ignores Aura, or Yang had no Aura left to protect her.

This was a classic case of pulling a deus ex machina out of your ass. Specifically done this way for shock value, but as someone who pays attention, this was awful storytelling.

Want a good case? The Red Wedding. Everything that happened was the result of a leadup of characters actions. It holds true shock for us because when we think about the why from what we know, we _find the reasons in the writing_.

So how about violence and fights, how do you suspend disbelief? You make them dirty, fast, and violent. Don't draw it out with conversation unless it is absolutely necessary. Fiction isn't an anime, and fights most definitely are not pretty. Extended fights such as the one in this chapter can and will have lasting effects on the characters. Fatigue in the short term, injury, recovery, and emotional turmoil in the long term.

Why is the existence of a giant spider in my world believable? Because I introduced the other threats in terms of size from smallest to biggest. Beowulf, then Ursa, then Deathstalker. Subtlety is key. This let me bring in a big threat without making it seem like it was improbable, and likely making you wonder _why it's there_ as a question of story rather than as a question of why it's addition.

And I established some things of importance in the fight - the Blighted ignore Aura. Crocea Mors is the most effective weapon against the Blighted. Later, when these things come up again, it won't be out of the side lines. The danger is very real.

This is called Tension, in the story. This subject comes later my friends.

Lastly, Characters. Honestly, the best way to avoid breaking disbelief is to have good characterization. But here are my rules; No character has plot armor. Violence is painful. And I am willing to hurt them. Deeply.

Here's the thing that I love about writing; These rules are made to be bent. There is only one rule I urge you to not break; _No Deus ex Machina_.

You sell the story right, and I'll buy it.

Until next time.


	6. Jaune IV

**This chapter comes a week and a day late; I moved, and I've been busy with a few different things that have put writing this on the backburner. My apologies. Originally this chapter was going to be a bit longer, but I've decided to split it into two just so I could get one out for you guys and keep you from waiting. My weekend sucks(apparently, it's a theme), but at least I can make yours a bit better.**

 **This chapter is gonna feel a little short, and rushed, so I apologize for that. Let me know if it's too bad, and if it is, I'll edit it and repost it.**

 **Enjoy**  
 **-Phoenyx**

* * *

Comparing the finale of the relic hunting to the previous fight, it was laughably easy. The group had stopped to rest once they were in the safety of the temple, joined by Ruby, Weiss, and the inseparable pair that Jaune had met during the morning.

Their rest was short-lived, as the moment they had chosen their respective relics, a bullhead hovered into existence in the clearing and gathered them to safety.

Nora was content to chat Ren's ear off, while Yang and Ruby shared stories of their fights. Ruby seemed ecstatic at the story, her eyes wide while Yang embellished the tale with more acts of valor than Jaune remembered. Blake, however, seemed content to provide the truth of the situation.

In turn, Ruby told her story in the same manner, her voice excited and so quick that Jaune was sure that it wasn't even real words. "And then, Ren _kicked_ the Nevermore out of the air!"

"He struck it with his Aura." Weiss corrected.

"It went flying!" Nora cheered.

"It barely flinched." Ren sighed.

"Then Weiss and Nora shared this _look_ , like they knew exactly what to do!"

"Yeah!?" If there was any question to their sisterhood, Jaune was sure it was gone with Yang and her own childlike excitement. "Then what!?"

"We knew because we discussed the plan befo- oh, forget it!" Weiss interjected, sighed, then hung her head and slouched. Ruby continued past her. "Then Weiss summoned this big piece of ice to trap the Grimm, so I cut a spike off and Nora hammered it in! It was so cool! We were like, _pchaaah, wuttaw, scchwing!"_

Each sound effect was enunciated by its own physical action, her hands chopping and spinning through the air. Jaune was certain she was going to try to do a flip, but ended up disappointed when his hooded friend let out a happy sigh and fell back to sit down in her seat. "I love this school."

"Aw, my wittle sister is making friends!" Yang, baby-talking, gathered Ruby up in a chesty hug. "I'm so pwoud!"

"Yaaaaaaang!" Ruby, red faced, struggled and struck out to no avail. "Stop! You're embarrassing me! Let go of me you oversized pillow!"

"But you're so cute!" Yang chortle and shook her sister, looking slightly more murderous than before. "Even if you're flatter than a city street."

"Yaaaang!"

"Surrounded by children." Weiss placed her face into her palm. Blake shot the girl a glance, then met eyes with Jaune before flicking her eyes away with a thoughtful frown. Pyrrha, sitting at his side, leaned forwards to grab her attention with a low voice. "Blake, I want to say thanks for saving me."

"Hm? Oh, it was nothing."

"I froze." Pyrrha smiled, though it was far too wooden. "I would have died if not for you."

"Happens to the best of us... I don't need a thank you for doing what I thought was right." Her amber eyes didn't linger on Pyrrha's. When the champion made to speak, though, she held up a hand and sighed. "Look, You know what they say. One good turn deserves another. I am sure you will save my life at some point during our time here, and then we can call it even. That okay?"

"Of course." Though the disappointment wasn't evident in her tone, Jaune could see her slump a bit. Dismissal must not be something she was used to. Jaune nudged her with his elbow, trying to give a reassuring smile and keeping his voice low. The roar of the engine would cover it, while the talking would keep his stomach settled. Still, the sickness wasn't as bad as it used to be. Suppose he could thank his Aura for that. "I'm sure Blake appreciates the thanks anyway."

"I know. I'm just… unaccustomed to gratitude being unnecessary." The redhead smiled none the less, "How is your shoulder?"

"It smarts something fierce." He rolled it with a wince, "But I think the bleeding stopped, so your bandaging did help. Thank you, Pyrrha."

"You're welcome, Jaune." She practically beamed, hiding it by lifting the part of the cloth she tore. "I suppose the loss of my clothing was necessary, even if it is unfortunate."

"Yeah. I'm sure you can sew it back… after you wash the blood out."

"Perhaps." Pyrrha fell silent, twisting the torn cloth in her hand for several moments, before dropping it and sitting back up straight. Jaune pursed his lips for a moment before they quirked at one corner. "I don't know how you do it."

"Hm?" She twisted her head, a curiosity covering her face. "Do what?"

"Sitting up straight all the time, even when you're tired. The fame. My word, there must be a couple thousand stories and pictures of you all over the… what's it called, the RemNet?"

"Practice." Pyrrha answered after a long pause, expression neutral. Jaune raised his eyebrows and agreed with a commitment-less shrug. Yang interrupted them before he could try to continue conversation. "How you feeling, Vomit boy?"

"Like I got tackled by a cow." An honest answer punctuated by his sore muscles and aching bones. Yet, when he slumped back in his seat there was no denying that there was this buzzing call in his blood. He felt alive… and a slight bit motion sick, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before. "I'm not dead, so I guess I'm okay?"

"So my boots are safe?" Her eyes narrowed, "They're brand new."

"They're safe…"

"Oh good. I wouldn't want to have to beat you." Yang grinned, "I'd make you buy me new ones too. New shoes are good for the _sole._ "

"I'd offer before you threw the first punch." Jaune deadpanned, scratching at the back of his neck. "I missed last time…"

"Yeah, luckily your aim sucks. If not, I'd definitely have to put my foot down."

"Is that another pun?" Pyrrha's brow furrowed. Yang gave her a blank look, then shrugged a shoulder. "Not intentionally, I was meaning that I'd shove my foot up his ass if he ruined my new boots."

Pyrrha blinked twice, Jaune stared blankly.

"That _was_ a pun…" Yang threw up her hands, then crossed her arms. "You guys are boring. Am I the only fun one here?"

"Nope." Blake chimed from the side. Her partner shot her a smile. The Amber eyed girl hinted one back. "Oh, no, Yang, I meant you're not fun."

"Doesn't mean much coming from you, Ms. Sunshine." Yang snorted, though her expression didn't sour. "Would you even know fun if it dropped you off a cliff?"

"I'd land on my feet if it did." Blake, killing the mood with a literal, fell silent, leaning her head back and entwining her fingers in her lap. Her eyes closed. Jaune supposed that was the end of that conversation entirely, his lips twitching at the corners. At least they all got along relatively well, better the bickering be friendly. He'd been around people who took offense too easily, and it most definitely wasn't ever pleasant after the first ten minutes. _He_ liked them, and that's what mattered.

Blake had survived a few hours with her partner without incident. It was a match for the ages.

"This girl." Yang jerked a thumb at her partner with a playful scoff, eyes settling on Pyrrha. "Tell me you're not a spoil sport too, P-money."

"P… money? Just Pyrrha is fine..."

"Ugh." With enunciated drama, Yang clutched her head and leaned forwards to rest her elbows on her knees. "Not like this."

"I'm fun…" Jaune added from the side. Yang groaned louder and sunk her head lower, but Pyrrha gave him a nod and a smile. He had that going for him at least, which was nice. "It's hopeless." Yang whined, "I'm destined to be the only source of fun for four years."

"What about Ruby?" Jaune asked, glancing at the hooded girl who was now too absorbed in tinkering with her weapon to notice. "Ruby seems fun."

"Family doesn't count."

"Nora?" He shot a glance at where Nora was still talking the ear off of Ren. The boy had rested his head back, and most definitely did not look like he'd remained conscious for the conversation. This, of course, didn't seem to deter Nora. Yang followed his gaze, then shared a look with him.

Well, that was that answer.

The bullhead shuddered as it landed, something that shot a healthy dose of nervousness through his system. He still didn't quite feel like re-tasting his breakfast yet, however, so that was a plus. It didn't keep him from being the first onto solid ground, only to be met with the stern gaze of Professor Goodwitch. At least, that was the first thing he noticed, but it was diminished by the pleasant look on the Headmaster's face. "I see the last of our students have arrived. If you would all follow Glynda here, we may begin the ceremony for naming teams."

"After which you will be assigned rooms in the dormitory wing." The woman at his side added, beckoning them forward. "Which will have beds. Since it is fairly obvious that some of you require rest."

Jaune followed her pointed glance at Ruby, who froze mid stretch and yawn with eyes that reminded him of a startled animal. The girl went red and shrunk back down with a cough and an awkward giggle, mumbling something under her breath. He considered speaking, but chose instead to remain silent and resist a yawn of his own.

At the Professor's command, the group followed the adults down the paved pathway and into the wide halls of Beacon. There was silence in the procession, an air of tension and nervousness that Jaune was sure he could just about cut. It did not break until they'd turned in their relics and had been instructed to stand in chosen groups of four under bright spotlights.

Which had turned to excitement, as it meant that the teams had been chosen… then impatience when the group had realized that they were last in line.

Pyrrha, on his left, crossed her hands over her stomach with a pleased look on her face, her body rocking back and forth with far more patience that Jaune felt he could achieve. To his credit however, the girl on his right was practically buzzing with energy, like a bonfire out of control. "Why won't this hurry up!?" She ran a hand through her hair, evening out the locks. "I need a shower, and I need my beauty rest."

"Don't be so dramatic." Her partner rolled her eyes, her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Blake didn't seem like one to talk, however, Jaune was certain her body language practically screamed what Yang had been saying. "All in good time." Pyrrha stated, leveling a green gaze on the three of them. "The headmaster is nearly here."

"Good." Yang huffed and crossed her arms, before jumping as said Headmaster fell into step beside her. She smiled and waved at his raised eyebrow, slumping and sticking out her tongue when he turned to the team named before them and raised his voice. "Team Rowan. Initialed RWRN. Comprised of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. Led by Ruby Rose."

"Huh?" Ruby gaped.

"What!?" Weiss practically screeched.

Yang one-eightied from rebellious teen to adoring fan-girl in the time it took for him to take a breath. She squealed and shook her fists in front of her shoulders excitedly. It did interesting things to her anatomy, to which Jaune averted his eyes to his partner… who wore quite a revealing outfit herself…

He blinked twice and felt a fact crash down on him that hadn't even crossed his mind in the midst of nearly dying - He was surrounded by supermodel worthy girls his age. All _three_ of his teammates ranked higher in attractiveness than most if not all the girls from his home town. And as a hormonal teen, something he couldn't deny if he wanted to, he had to survive interacting with them.

Suddenly he felt very small, very warm, and very shy. None of which was helped by Ozpin's next statement. "Finally we have Juniperberry, initialed JPBY. Comprised of Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao-Long. Led by Jaune Arc."

"B-what? Huh?" He jumped and looked to Yang, who grinned at him. Blake raised her eyebrows and gave him a once over, while he caught a moment of surprise on Pyrrha's face before she too smiled and patted him on the shoulder hard enough that he felt it in his bones. "Congratulations," Said the redhead, smiling. "I'm sure you'll make a grand leader."

He blinked and stared at the headmaster with what was surely a dumbfounded look. Jaune glanced at Pyrrha then back, pointing at himself. "Me?"

"Congratulations, young man. If you and your team would stay after, I would like a moment of your time to discuss the events of initiation with your team."

"Sure…" He responded after a beat, earning him a dark look from Yang. She would have to survive being dirty and tired for a bit longer, as he was certain that the Headmaster wouldn't hold them back unless it was an important reasons. That, and he was certain that the life of Huntsmen often held such aspects. It didn't matter to him nearly as much as the near future - What did the headmaster want with them? The team shared a look; Curiosity.

Jaune supposed that he would just have to take the team, his team, and find out.

* * *

 **Alright. Lemme know what you think. A very obvious reference(or two!) in this chapter.  
-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Author;** Character Dynamics.

When you've got a cast of characters like the ones in RWBY, more on the quirky side with some complexities, it is imperative that you determine the dynamics of each of the relationships between them. Character Dynamics at their core are simply how the characters work with or _against_ each other. No friendship is perfect, and not everybody gets along. So start by determining how each character interacts with the other. Yang is generally abrasively forwards, but tries to do it in a light way. I set up a dynamic with Blake here by making Blake much more subtle in her humor, but also very straightforwards in a different way - She shuts Yang down by being either literal, or making a dry comment. These type of characters, the loud and the quiet, either do two things; They click and connect, or they grind against each other. In popular media, you find this dynamic in leaps and bounds. Sasuke and Naruto are my example here for the opposite of Yang/Blake; They do not click, they grind and fight, argue and generally get on each other's nerves. They're still _friends_ in a way, but their friendship is far from what you'd expect when you call someone a friend, right?

Rivalry. That's their dynamic.

Yang and Blake are friends, but they're not rivals. They don't crash and clash all the time, though there are several moments when they do find themselves at odds with one another. This is just a friendship. That's it.

Look to real life for your examples of dynamics. Some people click and mesh together well. Of my few good friends, I mesh with them despite glaring personality differences, and connect deeply with one because of similarities in everything. The issue with characters that connect deeply in a way that I connect with my friend is this; They're boring from the outside. These aren't the characters that finish each other's sentences("sandwiches!" "That's what I was gonna say!"), because those characters are quirky and have a completely different type of dynamic. The issue with them is that you have to tell the story of that connection from the inside out, which, in an action or adventure, detracts from the plot, and leaves something to be desired if the characters agree on every point, agree on every plan of action. Instead you want characters that clash in viewpoints, clash in the proper way to fight, clash in the proper way to handle a distressed civilian, so on so forth.

Pyrrha is a good slate here to watch. She's got many aspects about her that pop up depending on who she interacts with. Her team gets to see her a bit more unfiltered, but the other students who fangirl and fanboy over her fame? They get the spotlight Pyrrha. The teachers? They get the loyal student Pyrrha. In a way, she's a bit of a chameleon in the start of the series, doing more acting than living.

A few dynamics I'll name; Ruby and Jaune have a sibling dynamic. Weiss and Jaune have a... it's like a forced friendship. She deals with him because he's everyone's friend(remember, not every character gets along.) Jaune and Yang have a banter dynamic. Yang has this dynamic with most people, however. Jaune and Pyrrha are sort of forced into a partner dynamic by the school, and it works out. Blake and Pyrrha are acquaintances, but they get along. Nora and Blake clash, but Nora and Ren mesh.

See something interesting with that last one? Ren and Blake are similar in many ways, both are quiet, smart, and quick. But Blake is more of a loner than Ren is, as most of the time Ren is more of a 'go with the flow' kind of guy. Nora meshes well with Ren because she's one to take charge of her own action. Decisive and unstoppable, she breaks the landscape while the river that is Ren simply flows along through the cracks. Blake likes her silence and her books - we can see where the split comes here.

Put them in a disaster situation, as you've probably seen in hundreds of fics. How do the characters react? Ruby wants to save the civilians, Weiss wants to secure high ground, Blake wants to examine the opposition, Yang wants to crush the opposition. Jaune wants to bunker down and protect everyone first, Pyrrha wants to save as many of her friends as she can, Nora wants to crush the opposition, Ren wants everyone to survive. There's a clear set of issues in everyone's plan. Ruby and Weiss' plans clash with Yang and Nora's, while Yang and Nora's mesh together. Jaune and Ruby have similar goals with two separate ways to go about it, while Jaune's plan aligns well with Weiss' due to the high ground giving tactical advantage. Ren and Pyrrha's plans are the most flexible, as they can follow either of the leader's plans. This is obviously a bit of a broad set of circumstances, but the picture is clear.

Hope this helped a little bit. Feel free to shoot me questions.


	7. Jaune V

**Enjoy, friends.  
-Phoenyx**

* * *

"You wanted us, headmaster?" Jaune hesitated at his own question, still on the receiving end from Yang's occasional glower. The Headmaster nodded, pressing both hands onto his cane - whether for support or by habit was hard to tell. "Yes, thank you for being prompt. However, I ask you to follow me to my office, as the subject matter is one regarding Beacon's security."

"Of course." Pyrrha was quick to accept the offer, earning a glance from Jaune _and_ Yang's glower. It soured his mood a bit, though he couldn't deny that he had just become leader. Such a change was likely to take some adjustment. Ozpin nodded and set off down the hallway. They followed closely behind, though the silence made Jaune feel uneasy.

 _This is most definitely about that Spider-Blighted-Grimm… thing. No way that it isn't. I haven't ever heard of anything like that._ He shook his head at the inner monologue, closing his eyes for a few steps and rubbing at his temple. _Should remember what I can so I have answers ready._

"Mind the step." The Headmaster warned as a set of doors dinged open. He was first to step in, gathering himself to the side so that team Juniperberry could squeeze into the cramped space. Jaune found himself comfortably uncomfortably close to all three of his teammates. "I apologize for the space. I'm afraid it's not as spacious as I'd hoped when I had it bui-"

"Say, is that your sword or are you happy to see me!?" Yang cut in, shimmying her shoulder back into Jaune's and playing about a look between coy and teasing. _Stuck in an elevator with three girls that easily classify as supermodels._ He felt his neck go red, so he closed his eyes and took a breath. It didn't help, instead only making three scents known; cherry, cinnamon, and something flowery. Yang chortled. _Oh, kill me now._

She shifted and threw her elbow onto his shoulder, leaning her face close and biting her thumb. "Aw, someone's enjoying the attention."

Surprisingly, he was. _Kill me... in five minutes._

"You're such a bother." Blake sighed from his right. He'd have agreed, except all that had done was spurn Yang further before his mouth could open. "Oh, I know. He's-"

"Miss Xiao-Long," Ozpin came to his defense as well. "While I appreciate the strong relationships that can be cultivated between my students…"

That killed it.

"You're all no fun." She grumbled during Ozpin's speech, drawing back off of him and giving him a slight bit more room to not suffocate. With an exhale, he cracked his eyes open and did his best to pretend like he didn't need to adjust his armor and itch his hot skin. The sobering thought helped kill it on the spot. _How sad that a little attention does this to me. How sad that it's not even real._

His frown deepened as the doors chimed open again. Catching his partner's eye, he was first out behind the Headmaster, coming to a stop under the large cogs and gears overhead. Jaune traced the complex system, trying to figure out exactly what it powered. Finding nothing, he set his sights back onto the Headmaster, who had made himself busy pouring himself a mug of some drink - likely coffee.

"Now, if you would please, enlighten me on the thing you encountered within the Emerald Forest. I'm curious as to how you came across such a threat."

"Sir, I-"

"The question was not intended for you, Ms. Nikos." The Headmaster lifted his mug to his lips and drank deeply in the extended silence. Pyrrha looked chastised, clamping her jaw shut after a quick apology. "Mr. Arc, any questions I ask your team should be assumed to be answered by you unless otherwise specified."

"Okay." Jaune drew out the 'oh' as he glanced between his team. The frown that came to his face deepened. "With all respect, Headmaster, my team are my equals. I don't care if I'm called the leader, I won't overshadow them."

"Hm." The older man sat back and steepled his fingers over his stomach. After a few moments in which Jaune squirmed under his gaze, the man nodded with only a ghost of approval in his tone. "Very well. Ms. Nikos, I believe I interrupted you?"

"Yes…" Pyrrha shot Jaune a glance, though it was hard tell if she was grateful through the measured expression she wore. Her head had turned back towards the Headmaster before he could decipher _that_ look. A quick glance to Yang and Blake held similar results, though the blonde gave him a discreet thumbs up. When Pyrrha did speak, her words were painfully obviously chosen with care. "Jaune and I decided that it was a possibility that the cave in which we encountered the… uhm…"

"Blighted." Jaune supplied. Ozpin's eyes flicked to him for a moment, but no comment was made. Pyrrha nodded and gave a gesture towards him at the word. "Blighted, yes. At first we discovered some sort of organic fluid coating the cave floor… I suppose that just calling this Blight would be apt…"

"It seems to fit."

"Then… uhm." She shifted, uncomfortable. It took a few moments for it to click that she was recalling the spider. He considered how she had froze and stepped forwards. "Then we ran into that thing. There were some words uttered, by me mostly. A bit of high pitched screaming…"

"Also you." Yang added with a wide smile. Jaune winced at the brute honesty. "We could hear you from where we were at. Decided to go see what girl needed help."

"Which is when we ran into Pyrrha." Blake filled while Jaune shot his fellow blonde a narrowed glare. The Headmaster held up a hand and leaned forwards on his elbows. His stare transfixed Jaune as much as his words. "Mr. Arc, I am curious as to why you decided to sacrifice yourself for somebody you had just met."

"Ah…" That got him stares from the team as well, most notably with Pyrrha wearing a complex expression. He felt his face heat up and scratched at the back of his neck. "Well… Pyrrha's a world class champion and her weapon couldn't pierce the thing…"

"But yours could." His partner frowned. Jaune nodded, his eyes never leaving Ozpin. "I figured that it wouldn't be a great loss if she survived and a nobody farm boy from Woad didn't."

Silence reigned over the room. Each second that passed made him feel more uneasy, something that wasn't exactly helped by the way everyone was _staring_ at him. Blake and the Headmaster had blank expressions, though the gears were turning in their heads. Yang looked surprisingly distraught, if not a bit angry, while Pyrrha just seemed like she didn't - or couldn't - believe him.

Finally, it broke.

"Tell me about your sword."

"Uh. Family heirloom, named _Crocea Mors_. It's been passed down in my family for generations, used in many wars and by many heroes."

"Ah, and despite this it hasn't ever been used to spill human blood, correct?"

"Yeah… how-" Jaune cut the question short. "Right. My dad went here."

"Grandfather too." The man leaned back again, sipping at his drink "Why did it cut through this… blighted?"

"I don't know."

"Well, tell me more then. Did it require a strong strike?"

"No, it most definitely didn't." Pyrrha said. "He was making to parry a strike, I was certain he was dead because of it. That thing was strong, and it wasn't a particularly good defense..."

She trailed, Jaune winced.

"But his weapon just sort of… cut it."

"It also left fire on the wound." Blake crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Seemed to really hurt the… blighted."

"Very interesting. I have kept you long enough, however. I'm certain you are all in need of rest. Glynda should be waiting for you on the ground floor." Ozpin stood, walking them to the elevator. "I shall send for a more detailed report during your Grimm Studies class. I'm certain Peter would enjoy the story. Good night, students."

"Good night." Jaune and the others echoed as the door closed. Once the lift began to descend, he let out a breath and felt tension he hadn't recognized leave his shoulders. "Well."

"That was something. Do I finally get my sleep." Yang leaned her back to the wall, resting her head and letting her eyes close. "Fighting takes a lot out of a girl."

"I hope we do." Pyrrha slid her scroll out of a pouch and checked the time. "It's pretty late."

"Do you wonder why he didn't ask anything about how the blighted had got there?" Blake frowned, something that Jaune mirrored. She was right. The Headmaster had stated that it was a matter of security, but didn't seem at all surprised by a new, uncategorized threat… He seemed more interested in trivial information. How it was found, his sword, his reasonings. Yang made a noncommittal noise. "He probably just forgot, Blakey."

"With all that caffeine in his system?" The black haired girl huffed in response. "He downed three cups of coffee during the ceremony. Three cups in two hours, and a fourth just now."

"It is a bit suspect." Pyrrha pursed her lips. "I suppose he does have his reasons, though."

"And you trust that? Jaune and Yang sustained injuries through Aura." Blake argued, setting her sights on the redhead. "Didn't think that was important?"

"I…" Her conviction wavered, "I don't know."

"I don't like it when our mom and sis fight." Yang whispered to Jaune, leaning close to avoid being heard under another one of Blake's biting replies. "Dad, do something!"

"Yang, I hate you. And don't call me dad." Jaune muttered back with only a slight bit of belief in the first statement. Still, he moved forwards in the small space and raised his hands in an attempt to placate the debate. "Hey, guy- uh, girls. Let's talk about this back on our room? Or after we get some rest, clear our heads?"

Both shot him a look, neither too happy. Almost like clockwork, they simultaneously seemed to waver, then take a breath to clear out whatever heat was left. "That seems like a grand idea." Pyrrha was the first to speak, opening her mouth to say something to Blake as the elevator dinged. The doors open, and left a tired, frazzled looking Glynda Goodwitch.

"No bunk beds." She snapped almost immediately. Her hand came up to massage a temple, voice calming as the woman collected herself. "Follow me, memorize the route, and please stay somewhat quiet. Team Rowan has given me quite the headache."

"Yes ma'a-" Jaune stopped as the deputy turned to lead them away, doing his best not to join in on Yang's silent chuckle as they followed. So Ruby's team were troublemakers… considering Ruby and Nora, he didn't see it as much of a surprise. Much less that Weiss was someone who could easily be the strict type… He couldn't help the smile, whispering to Yang. "Ruby's team sounds like a recipe for disaster."

"Yeah. They'll probably get all the long, tough assignments." She smiled, "Go across the continent, break this ice statue. Then go back across and fight this Lizard Grimm. Then go here and spend hours freeing council members…"

"Jeez, Yang. What an imagination." Jaune chuckled along with her, earning himself a friendly punch in the shoulder. His good shoulder, luckily. "What else?"

"Hmm.. oh! What if they're doing it all just to get some random cooking ingredients?" The look on his face must have been quite something, judging by the way that Yang threw back her head and cackled at his face. He blinked twice, the noise drawing a glare from Goodwitch while Yang worked to control her laughter. After a few moments, however, he found himself caught up in her mirth, which in turn prompted Pyrrha and Blake to ask. After the story was told again, Pyrrha was covering her mouth and stifling a giggle, while Blake rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'Strange teammates.' Even Ms. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, her face losing a few of their stress lines. "Your room is here." The older woman stated, ignoring the sound of arguing and banging from the door across the hall. "I made the decision to settle your room across from team Rowan's, due to the fact that you're all likely to become friends by extension of the siblings."

"Sounds like a plan." Jaune shifted his weight and settled his hand on the hilt of his blade. "What are we supposed to do with our equipment?"

"Tonight, you stow it in your room. Tomorrow you will be reassigned permanent lockers and be provided uniforms to wear around the school grounds." She let out a long exhale, "Do be sure not to create too much of a ruckus. Other teams are trying to sleep, unlike Ms. Rose's."

"Thank you, Ms. Goodwitch." Pyrrha smiled. Glynda Goodwitch returned it politely, though hers was tight and brief. She waved her scroll over the pad on the side of the door, to which it beeped and clicked. "In you go. By tomorrow, your scrolls will be synced up to Beacon's network properly, and as such you will be able to unlock your door properly. Gather in the cafeteria for breakfast at eight sharp, where the rest of your day will be planned out as well. Sleep well, team Juniperberry."

"Good night, Professor." Jaune replied, followed by the other three. Ms. Goodwitch looked between the three of them, before turning and striding off. As she went, Jaune caught a muttering of words. "Juniper berry is supposed to be _two_ words…"

"Okay then." He sighed, turned, and shouldered his way into the room. Or, shouldered was the most apt way he could describe how he simply leaned into the door and slugged his way to the nearest bed. The door was just an unfortunate bystander in his path. "I am ready to sleep. All in favor?"

"I." Was the resounding response, followed by the sound of armor and weapons clinking and clacking together as the team made themselves comfortable. Some rearranging of sleeping arrangements was done, with Blake preferring a bed near the window, and Jaune preferring one near the door. It felt surprisingly comfortable to be sleeping in the same room as three other girls, though he was more accustomed to them being related to him by blood. Far too tired to think on the fact that they weren't related to him, were all gorgeous in their own right, _and_ he hadn't completely embarrassed himself yet...  
"We'll need to get you proper bandages tomorrow, Jaune." Pyrrha told him, "And we'll have to clean the wound again."

"Okay. Sounds like a good idea." Jaune smiled at her, twisting in his bed and dropping his body like a rock. His head hit the pillow, bounced, then remained still. _Things are going well…_ _And they'll continue to go well. I fit here._  
The next two weeks would tell him otherwise.

* * *

 **Lemme know what you think.  
-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Author:** Purple Prose

 _'It was a dark and stormy night.._.'

I'm certain, as a writer, that you've heard this phrase mocked before. It's considered the quintessential example of a melodramatic style known as 'purple prose'

The entire opening sentence is a chore to read. Over the top, unnecessary detail.

 _'It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets(for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.'_

Now, one or two sentences, or paragraphs, among a story that read like this are fine, but you write like this the entire time and you'll find your readers bored and fatigued from just how much information you end up trying to pack into. The hallmark of a good writer, in my opinion, is one that can say the most with as little as possible. So how do we avoid it, how do we do that?

Well, take a look at the previous aforementioned sentence. In one sentence, there are 9 adjectives, 4 points of view, and you have exactly no idea what's going on in the scene. I can think of two separate ways to accomplish the exact same setting without going too far into the purple prose.

 _'It was a dark, stormy night, and the wind was rattling the housetops of London.'_

Or, if you want to be completely pure; _'It was a dark, stormy night.'_

So why avoid purple prose?

Some people like purple prose, they really do. Now I'm not saying they're wrong for liking it, but from the standpoint of being a storyteller, and an effective author, all the flowery language is distracting and detracting from your plot and scene. It's like the Michael Bay effects of writing; Too many explosions. These people tend to miss that you don't need to be into purple prose to have flowery writing. In the same vein, not all flowery writing is purple prose.

So how do you avoid purple prose?

Cut adjectives and keep from swapping points of view. You don't need an adjective to describe every look between characters, every way the character says or does something. You don't need to show everything, sometimes you just need to let the scene be interpreted.

As funny as it sounds, I treat all writing as if I were to be writing erotica; Provide the scene, and let the imagination do the work.


	8. Pyrrha III

**Sorry it's late. No excuses that I plan to share.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Jaune did not fit in.

At all. The fact that he had made it into Beacon was incomprehensible to her. Yet he stood, leader of a team and owner of a weapon that had its own version of fame. Perhaps it was a silly twist of fate, or maybe he just scraped by on the skin of his teeth? Neither answer was certain to Pyrrha, but the rational in her favored the latter.

So he stood a leader. For all of about twenty three seconds before the bigger boy's mace crushed through his guard and sent him to the floor. Jaune stood up quick enough to avoid the follow-up, something that earned Cardin another warning from Ms. Goodwitch over rules. But his footwork was flimsy, his arms were tensed, his sword held at an inopportune angle despite his admittedly superior battle instinct. He was slow and more cumbersome than he had been during initiation, relying on his shield and armor without any base of combat skill to make proper use of either.

What confused her was the way he moved, the way he dodged and predicted things almost as if he had years of practice under his belt, a complete opposite to how Jaune took to offense. His counter attack, appropriately timed during Cardin's back-swing, was so weak that it didn't chip away any more than a sliver of Aura. Whereas Cardin's strike took chunks from Jaune, even if they didn't send him sprawling. Had Jaune not possessed the ridiculous amount that he did, Pyrrha was certain he'd have lost several times over.

To the side, he heard Yang mutter something under her breath.

It made no sense. She had seen his potential, had seen who he was at his core when she had unlocked his Aura… or perhaps that was the answer, in that simplicity of potential. He was here because of it, maybe, and being here would create that warrior she had seen. He _had_ improved since his first few bouts, giving Cardin a hell of a fight despite not actually winning a single one(though he was close). He had improved, though, to the point that Pyrrha was sure Cardin only hit because Jaune didn't know how to adjust to Cardin's adjustment to his own. Battle was, by and large, a dance of adaptability.

"He's getting better." Blake pursed her lips, "His dodges and counters almost look natural… But…"

"He sucks still." Yang finished as Goodwitch began her explanations over his mistakes and few improvements he could implement. "Bad."

"He seems completely untrained, even if he's got a good intuition. Perhaps it is when he is not relying on it that he falters..." Pyrrha's expression matched Blake's. Yang grimaced. "Combat schools in Vale do not seem to be too different compared to Mistral..."

"He did fine against that Blighted."

"Chopping is the easiest part of using a sword." She patted her own. "Wielding it properly is something completely different. Perhaps he just needs… practice?"

"Good try, Jaune." Yang gave the approaching teen a thumbs up, "You'll get him next time."

"Probably not." He replied without tone, settling down between her and Pyrrha. His hand wiped the sweat from his brow, brushing aside the blonde hair that stuck to skin. Pyrrha offered one of the nearby towels, situated with her between him and the cloth. Her eyes never left him, yet he turned it down with an easy smile. "What are you ladies on about?"

"Gossip. Talking about cute boys, doing our hair, going shopping. Wanna join in?" Yang's reply was smooth and quick. Blake raised an eyebrow, while Pyrrha rolled her eyes with a smile. Both were aimed at Jaune's expression, which was pointedly followed by a "I think I'm okay."

Same song and dance, almost ritualistic for the team. Jaune never asked what they really talked about - mostly because it was what he called "girl stuff" - and they never opposed his changing the subject. Pyrrha knew she wouldn't be around to join in. As Jaune's partner, she was always next in line to fight. True to form, Goodwitch called out her and her opponent. Today she was to fight the bubbly Nora, a girl that she most definitely liked, and most definitely underestimated at first. Not in a bad way, however, Pyrrha simply didn't think that the girl could swing her oversized hammer so fast.

Her first opponent had shared Pyrrha's assessment, and the result had been… explosive. To put it lightly.

"Don't go easy on me!" Nora hopped on the balls of her feet, Magnhild in hands. She still managed to singsong her words through all that motion. "That'd be so rude."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise. I do not coddle a worthy opponent."

"Pinky swear?" The girl stopped her hopping to hold out her smallest finger. With a smile, Pyrrha took it in her own. Nora grinned and skipped back to her starting place. "I get to fight a champion, I get to fight a champion~"

Pyrrha, stepped back to hers and twirled Milo in her hand, extending it into its spear form and bringing her shield to her back. Speed would be her friend this fight, since Nora's strikes would hit far too hard to block more than once or twice, possibly too hard to redirect without making her Semblance obvious. Though she had fought opponents like this before, none had possessed the monstrous strength that Nora did. A Semblance, more than likely, since the girl was also tough as nails when it came to pain tolerance. She'd take hits that no other would to ensure that her hammer connected. Often times the single blow decided the bout.

Even dodging would require attention, as her style involved spinning Magnhild in a way that would allow for quick, successive strikes.

Pyrrha knew she would need to strike hard and fast, put as much damage into her aura as quickly as possible. If she could remove the ability for Nora to take a hit to return one, then Pyrrha would have the upper hand in close engagements. Milo gave her the range advantage and the speed advantage, all she had to do was not get hit more than once… or not get hit at all, possibly. Striking was dangerous in its own right - if Nora got her hands around her weapon, she could very easily wrench it away.

And in a fight of fists versus hammer, Pyrrha was certain she wouldn't win easily.

Nora was much smarter fighter than she put herself out to be. Commendable and respectable, and straight out of the philosophy books.

But, Pyrrha was known as _the_ Invincible Girl for a reason. Losing was not an option. Goodwitch raised her hand, looking between the two of them and prepared to signal the beginning. The hand dropped. She closed the distance in a few steps, lashing out with Milo in hopes to score a quick hit. It was a bit low of her, in some ways, but most fights weren't won by fighting fair. Arena fighting was rife with little crimes; an 'accidental' kick of dirt, a spit towards the eyes, among many others. Nora seemed to have anticipated her move however, the girl stepping to the side and spinning the hammer in a circle that would very quickly end the fight if it were to strike her. Instead, Pyrrha dropped down into a roll to come up to the side of her opponent and lashed out again.

Nora deflected this strike with the shaft of Magnhild and retaliated with another heavy swing of the hammer. True to the speed Pyrrha had witnessed, the hammer whisked just barely across the air where her torso had been not a moment before - a miss aided by her Semblance. Two more strikes of her spear, one catching Nora's thigh and dipping down that Aura just a slight bit while the second struck nothing but air. The hammer came spinning again, one strike following the previous in the sequence of strikes Pyrrha had studied over the past few weeks. Her issue came with Nora being Nora - chaotic and unpredictable.

Seven strikes in, Pyrrha slipped into an opening in her guard, bringing Milo into the form of a sword and drawing it over her opponent's stomach. She continued with a dance around Nora's feet, transforming her weapon back to the spear form and setting another cut across Nora's back as she retreated past her. Another follow-up blow was sidestepped and countered with a crosscut that removed the last of Nora's aura and forced Goodwitch to call the match. Though she seemed bummed, Nora shot a smile at Pyrrha and pointed at her. "Next time, you're going down."

"I look forward to the challenge." Pyrrha replied, retracting her weapon and offering her hand. Nora took it with a grip like iron and a smile reminiscent of a child's birthday. Once their shake had ended, the pair retreated from the stage to their respective seats. Before either had even sat, Goodwitch's voice rang over the crowd. "Ms. Nikos, impressive bout as always. I see you have taken my advice into count."

"Yes, Professor. It has been most helpful."

"As we saw." She straightened her spectacles, turning to Nora. "Once again, Ms. Valkyrie, it would be wise to avoid your 'suicide' attacks, especially against a faster opponent. While Ms. Nikos is sure to avoid doing permanent damage, many opponents will not be so kind to avoid the advantage. Aura does not make one invincible."

"Got it, coach!" Nora, with a smart salute, stood straight as an iron rod. Pyrrha, understanding the dismissal, turned back to her team and ascended the stairs. Her team leader and partner offered both water and a towel, the latter of which she took and the former settled onto the bench. She lifted the cloth to her forehead and dabbed away the sweat there. "That was a good fight." He told her, before returning to his quiet conversation with Blake. Pyrrha smiled and accepted the compliment, settling down into the chair and evening her breath. "Nora's quite a fighter."

"She is." Pyrrha confirmed, handing him the towel back. Jaune accepted it with a glance towards Yang. He laughed, though there was a hint of nervousness. "Ah, huh. I wouldn't want to go up against her myself."

He was trying to make conversation. Unsuccessfully. Possibly trying to coerce something out of her, and judging by the subject matter it was definitely going to be a story from the Arenas. She smiled and shut it down. "Understandable. Jaune, the Professor will be cross if we were to continue talking during her lesson."

"Ah. R-right." Once again he glanced at Yang, who shot her a hard to read look, before he fell silent. It was another repetition in their team. Jaune seemed to like asking about combat. While it was always punctuated with how she was doing personally, Pyrrha was far more than tired of it. Nobody ever cared that she liked embossing armor or chiseling stone, or that she wanted to learn to sing and dance.

"That concludes our live combat for the day." Goodwitch straightened her glasses, beckoning the most recent combatants back to their seats. "Now I believe it is time to discuss the rules of the Vytal Festival tournament. As you all know, Vale is hosting the tournament this year, shortly after our annual dance…"

As much as she hated to admit it, Pyrrha's attention wavered and Goodwitch's voice ended up a dull drone in the background throughout the final ten minutes of the class. The bell startled her out of her reverie, interrupting an imaginative daydream in which she had been designing a new ornamentation for her armor.

Pyrrha was the third up from her seat, only after the Rose-Xiao-Long sisters. "Finally!" The blonde of the pair cheered, "Free time!"

"Time that would be spent best studying for Professor Oobleck's test tomorrow." Weiss crossed her arms at Yang's face. "I suppose that I should not be so surprised that you and Ruby share that expression."

"It's Doctor Oobleck…" Jaune muttered under his breath. Pyrrha gave him a look, unnoticed due to him facing away, and smiled. "Both Jaune and Yang do require tutoring." Pyrrha waved a hand in the air, as if presenting Weiss. "It is quite kind of you to offer."

"Wh-Wha-" Weiss reddened, cleared her throat, then controlled herself back into form. "It is the duty of a Schnee to excel and reach for greatness, it would be unbecoming to not extend my knowledge onto those who don't."

"Gee, thanks." Jaune slouched and hung his head. Yang followed suit, leaning onto their leader. Ruby joined soon after, already chosen as the Heiress' personal student/torture victim. "Kill me now, Yang."

"I don't think Weiss-cream will let us die, Sis."

"Come along now." Weiss-cream patted their heads as she strode past, shooting Pyrrha a humored scowl. "Pyrrha and I have a day of work ahead of us."

The redhead giggled at the three defeated teens that followed after Weiss. "Yes, I suppose we do."

* * *

 **There's not an AFTAA this chapter. I originally planned to do one on motivation and keeping yourself from being discouraged, but it didn't work for me. It came down to not making excuses, to write every day. Even if it's just twenty words, and even if they're awful. Don't put too much stock in being compared to the big names, either in the FFNet community or as a writer in general. Use your free time. Life is full of it, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.**

 **Geared towards the people who take writing seriously like me; Writing should be like a friend. If you can't make any time for it at all, then it's simply not your friend. Which makes you a hobbyist writer. Nothing wrong with that.**

 **I'll see you guys next chapter.**

 **-Phoenyx**


	9. Pyrrha IV

**Another chapter without writing advice. If anyone wants some really good Fanfiction to read, since I'm going to be slow now, I recommend two fantastic Legend of Zelda fic writers. Lyxie and CrazyGurlMadness. Both are exemplary with their words. The former just seems to be an exemplary woman in the first place(I haven't had the pleasure of chatting with the latter).  
**

 **-Phoenyx**

* * *

The study session had lasted quite a bit longer than she'd assumed either Yang or Jaune could stand. There was a sinking suspicion that it had nothing to do with her presence and everything to do with Weiss and her ability to domineer practically any situation. Poor Ruby. Still, the hooded girl seemed all too happy to sit through two hours of studying and homework in order to spend time with her partner. She chatted happily at the girl while her sister and fellow team leader concentrated on the cards of their game. Weiss, a book held up into her sight, replied with cordial statements and much more even replies than what would be expected of someone who had a tendency to come off a bit… snobbish.

The conversation stopped for a moment while Yang slapped down a card onto the board with a dramatic flourish and laugh, her troops infiltrating the defensive lines other younger sister. Sabotage was the name of their game, and Ruby had no answer. Pyrrha cocked her head to the side and snuck a peek at her partner's cards, having been eliminated earlier in the session herself.

He was most definitely done for.

His single card was one that did nothing but skip to the end of a turn. There was likely merit in removing a player's turn, of course(as she was told, it skips damage), but as behind as he was in the game already she wasn't sure it would do much. Jaune didn't seem too bothered by the coming defeat. If anything, he was waiting for something. He chatted among the group with an easy, if somewhat defeated smile. The way his eyes darted across the board, however, gave away his game. He was taking it somewhat seriously, strategizing in his head as he put himself off as someone doing the opposite. "Well… I guess I can just take you out before I lose…" Ruby sighed at her cards, paying the cost and placing the entirety of her hand on the table. All offensive cards. "Sorry, Jaune."

"Yeah…" The team leader pursed his lips and settled his card onto the field. "Me too."

" _End the t-_ Oh…" Ruby frowned at her failure, then gave her sister a puppy eyed glare.. "That's not cool. And because of you I have no counters to that."

"All's fair in love and war, Rubes." Yang said with a snicker, leaning forwards onto her elbows. Jaune drew his next card and pursed his lips, averting his eyes from the blonde's very obvious forwardness and spinning the glorified cardboard in circle between his fingers. Yang, and whatever triumph she felt, seemed to swell at his expression. She drew her taunting word out; "Well?"  
"I do know how much you like winning." Jaune settled the card down, pushing the chair back and standing to his full height. "So I'll just leave this here and let you go back to it."

"Huh? Wait, what's that do?"

"Uuuuh…" Ruby twisted her head on her neck and craned her body over the table. "Apparently… it reuses every card that was played last turn."

"Oh. Then-"

"Oh! Every card that was played _since_ his last turn. So mine and yours" Ruby blinked at Pyrrha, who looked to the card herself. "Well then."

"Wait. That draw is just… Damn it, _Jaune!_ "

"Quiet! This is a library!" Weiss snapped back within a moment of Yang's voice raising. Jaune looked back and gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just lucky, I guess." It was as good as an excuse as any, but there was a twinkle behind his eye that promised some sort of mischief. One that remained even after his sheepishly careful explanation of exactly what order he would play his stolen cards, right until the other players accepted their defeat.

She understood then, once all was done, how clever that was. A quick glance at his previously played cards gave him away. One of his Supply Line cards allowed him to rearrange the top few cards in return for disbanding a defensive placement on the map. While Yang had been too busy salivating over a reduction in his defenses, he had been setting up a play. His solemn expression had made it seem like a last ditch effort that failed. This was warfare straight out of the Art of War book her father had introduced her to; Appear weak when you are strong.

"You're not gonna do this every time, right?" Yang glowered at Jaune, who shrugged. Her expression held long enough to press her forehead into the table. The pieces on the board clattered and fell. "I want a new leader."

"You're stuck with him. Could learn a thing or two." Ruby chirped, blinking down at the stack of cards. Yang's glare shifted to her. Her words came out like the flash of a blade. "You weren't much better off."

"I had a plan to win."

"Take someone with you? How are you supposed to win like that?"

"I never said it was a good plan." Ruby amended with a finger in the air. "But it was a plan."

Yang snorted, gathering up her pieces in front of her. "We'll get them next time, boys."

"It was a good play." Pyrrha replaced a toppled tower into it's rightful place. Jaune shot a playful look towards Blake. "Better than cheating."

Blake didn't look too amused. She flashed a sassy eye at the good leader and flipped a page in her book. "You do what you have to in order to survive."

"You're not going to die if you lose."

"Not on a game, maybe." A shoulder was shrugged. "I don't make a habit of losing anything over petty things like rules and honor."

"So I've seen." It wasn't an intentional insult, but Pyrrha felt a little bit offended on her part. Blake was unfazed, going as far as to quirk her lips up on one side. "Just don't let your morals get you killed one day."

"Careful, Blakey." Yang warned in a loud mock whisper, "Jaune might realize that we actually enjoy his company."

"Of course. My mistake. Jaune, could you kindly leave? I'm trying to read." The black haired girl fell silent. Jaune shifted his weight with a sigh, rolling his eyes. Pyrrha felt for him here, as even she wouldn't have been able to keep up with the wit of the team members of hers. At least not yet. Practice made persistence after all. Yang tilted her head at Jaune, "Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to play another?"

"Uh…" He glanced to his partner, who put up a hand. "Oh, no thank you. One crushing defeat is more than enough for me."

"Aw, come on, Pyrrha. You didn't do too bad."

"I died on turn five."

"The game is twenty turns long…" His argument was fairly weak. She was still out by a fourth. Compacted with her not understanding the rules or her cards, there was no way she would win. And Pyrrha Nikos hated losing… She would have to play practice games, or study some videos. Blake saved her with a clap of closing pages, "I guess I'll play."

"Oh, sure. Pyr, do you mind?"

"Of course." The seat was relinquished for the quieter girl, who twisted her lips at Jaune. "You sure you want me to play? I am a cheater after all."

"Allegedly." Jaune defended, despite being the one who had pointed out Blake's suspiciously lucky draws the previous game in the first place. The dynamic of the conversation was lost on Pyrrha, who puzzled at how someone could be so wishy washy with his words. If she cheated, then she shouldn't play. If there was no proof, then he shouldn't... accuse…

Or were they just joking? Pyrrha blinked. _That seems logical._

"Hey, so when does Goodwitch wanna take us to that forest place?" Yang set her shuffled deck onto the table and drew. "You know, with the Grimm, and the fighting."

"Every forest has Grimm." Ruby frowned at Weiss and her curtness. The heiress pursed her lips. "You'll need to be a bit more specific…"

"I was only told that there would be Grimm."

"Forever Fall." Pyrrha provided, "That's our first mission."

"Field trips aren't really missions." Ruby sighed, before piping up. "But there'll be Grimm!"

"What's so good about that?" Jaune looked baffled. "Grimm are usually _bad_ news."

"True… but in this case it's not. I'm tired of swinging Crescent Rose at people. My baby needs real work!" She let out a maniacal laugh and clenched her claws, or as everyone else knew them, fingers, towards the sky. "Blood for the Blood God!"

"Coward." Yang snorted, watching Jaune lean away from the raving hooded girl. His stool went onto two legs. "She's not even a hundred pounds soaking wet."

"Hey, she's scary." The leader played his card and passed his turn while Ruby squawked at her sister. "A-anyway. I've always wanted to go. My Dad used to talk about that forest all the time. It was his favorite place when he went here."

"Cool." Ruby, off of her sister induced bloodthirst, settled her cards in front of her in a haphazard pile. "Our dad loved the training room."

"Uncle Qrow loved the ladies locker room." Yang added. Weiss's face soured, and Pyrrha was sure hers did as well. Weiss spoke for the both of them. "Your uncle was a pervert."

"At least he was honest." Ruby confirmed with the nod and tone that only a niece who unconditionally loved said uncle could. "He's always honest."

"That's not always a good thing." Weiss snapped back. Which was swiftly followed by the two of them bickering like the old ladies outside of the bathhouses in Mistral. Pyrrha did her best to tune them out, choosing instead to lean her arms across Jaune's shoulders and rest her head on her palm so that she could see the game clearly. He didn't glance up, instead just straightening up so that she wouldn't be bent halfway over. "My cards aren't that great." The blonde admitted to her, spreading them out in his fingers. "But they'll do."

"I wouldn't know." Pyrrha tilted her head at the board. "Someone will have to explain this game to me a little bit better."

Jaune's head tilted and he froze for a moment, before he turned to face her. "You didn't know how to play?"

"Not really."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He blinked a few times and went red, "Didn't occur to me that you- well, you were probably busy, being a champion and-" Always, _always_ with her _titles._ Never her, no, she was just the _Champion._ Something must have crossed her face, because he took on a panicked expression and flew directly into a textbook recounting of the rules. Halfway through, he stopped to take his turn, explaining each particular move and why he did it - despite giving away what she was sure was crucial information to his opponents.

The game didn't last long. Yang's draw had been precisely what she had built the deck around, and come turn seven all three of the other teens were far from amused. Jaune had leaned back against her arms and crossed his own with a disapproving glare at Yang. Ruby unsurprisingly seemed happy for her sister, while Blake had a look that mixed annoyance with something akin to pride. Evidently satisfied with her victory, _very_ evident judging by the happy grin, Yang leaned back in her chair and placed her hands behind her head. "Anyone else hungry?"

"Little bit." Jaune admitted at the same time that Ruby exclaimed, "Very!"

"Blake?"

"Huh? Oh, I suppose I am a bit peckish."

"That settles it then. Who's up for going to get snacks?" She looked between them and stood. The answer was a chorus of growling stomachs, so Ruby stood with her. "Right then, anyone have any preferences?"

"I'm not sure food is allowed in the Library." Weiss peered at Yang over her book, "In fact, I'm very certain that is one of the many rules."

"Rules that she's going to break anyway." Jaune smiled at Weiss, whose icy glare could have frozen the sun. The heiress mumbled something unbecoming of herself in response to his words, but didn't otherwise comment. With that out of the way, Yang and Ruby departed with the group's complete lack of input on snacks. Jaune watched as they left, eyes on the door for several moments after it closed. Then, snapping back to the present, he turned his head to look at her. "If you want to sit down, I can go over the game with you."

"Sure."

"Jaune?" Blake, characteristically silent as usual, leaned forwards on her elbows and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Can we talk about that thing in the forest, finally? Now that everyone is here?"

"They're not all here, Blake." His eyebrow twitched downwards, a moment of annoyance quickly controlled. "We're trying to have fun, not be worried about something that we've already reported."

"Right. And before we were training. Before that we were too busy with classwork." The raven haired girl drawled the words in a way that was almost lazy, but she didn't hide the frustration in her tone. "And I don't know if this slipped by you, but the only time we've 'reported' that _thing-_ "

"Blighted." He corrected quietly. His eyebrows furrowed, an expression she'd grown used to over the last two weeks; Jaune was thinking. Blake continued unbidden by his correction. "- was after initiation. Two weeks ago. There haven't been announcements, nobody else was told."

"I'm sure the Headmaster isn't just sitting by and… how is it said in Vale, 'twiddling his fingers'?"

"Twiddling his thumbs." Jaune corrected again, his eyes glued firmly on the table.

"Right." Pyrrha would have thanked him if she thought he'd respond at all. "I will admit, however, that it is very strange that we haven't heard anything about it."

"We should investigate." Blake met her eyes, an intense conviction that made Pyrrha avert hers. "If something is out there, we won't get in trouble for it."

"And if something isn't?" Pyrrha gave what she hoped was disapproval. "I'm not going to risk detention, or worse, over restlessness. If something's out there, the Headmaster knows."

"Is that a fact?" Blake's challenge was not without merit, but hot, defiant frustration still welled up in her chest. Pyrrha met Blake's eyes and set her jaw. "It is."

"With what proof?"

"I have trust in the headmaster." The Champion leaned forwards, "You should try it."

"Hm. Well, I suppose Jaune and I will have to see how well placed your trust is."

"Thankfully, That's not up to-" Her words were cut short as their leader returned to the conversation. He stopped their argument flat by placing a calm hand on the table. "Pyrrha… Blake's right, I think."

Both women looked his way, one in bewilderment and the other in surprise. When Pyrrha made to argue, Jaune's look could have put her flat on her back. Another flare of heat came into her chest, defiance, but her words were replaced by slow huff that went unheard under his voice. "The Blighted are dangerous. Someone has to check. We'll go tonight. Blake's volunteered, Pyrrha, are you going to come with us?"

"I'm not hearing this." Weiss cut in from the side, closing her book and standing up to leave. Pyrrha frowned, hoping for an ally from the heiress. When the white haired girl left instead, she looked back to Jaune. He met her eyes. "Tonight. Are you coming?"

Was he serious? At best it would get him in trouble, at worst they could die. Sure, that sword of his would be a bit of a deterrent. As much as it could be considering its wielder. His expectant look didn't help things, he didn't just ask her to come, he _wanted_ her to come.

"No." She stood, hands on the table and her eyes flicking between the two of them. "If you two want to get yourselves hurt or killed, I won't stop you. But I'm not going to do something so… so foolish."

She didn't miss the flicker of betrayal and pain crossing Jaune's face, nearly cringing at her own actions. It wasn't very noble of her to abandon her partner… her friend? No, they weren't friends. How could they be? How couldn't they be? She wasn't even completely sure if it mattered anymore.

 _Jaune is an idiot._ She fumed as she strode towards the library exit, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling worming around in her stomach. _He's the leader, and he's an idiot._

* * *

 **So, Pyrrha and Jaune drift further. One small change can make quite a bit of difference.**

 **Thanks for reading. Feel free to review/pm about the story. I ask to keep the reviews relevant to the story.  
**

 **-Phoenyx**


	10. Jaune VI

**Hey, got another one done. I took a break from writing the current chapter and the next to work out some excerpts from the future, that way I have an idea of what I'm leading up to. Sorry I had no way to let you guys know. I really need a Twitter or something. AFTAA is about not getting too complex with your writing. It's an accessibility thing.**

 **I _MIGHT_ revise the latter half of this chapter. I don't think I wrote that section really well, but I wanted to get this chapter out for you guys.**

 **Also, Guys, I get it, you don't like that Pyrrha hasn't just jumped into Jaune's arms and proclaimed her undying, intense love for him. _I get it._ But have some faith and stick with it, it gets better because of the events of this and last chapter. People, in general, are pretty dumb when it comes to their own feelings when they're teenagers. Pyrrha's as susceptible to frustration as the best of us, and it would be quite frustrating to leave one Kingdom to not be famous and _still be famous_.  
**

 **Enjoy,**

 **-Phoenyx**

* * *

"Blake. Do you have an idea of why Pyrrha's isn't a fan of me?"

"Yes." Blake tugged him to the ground at the sound of footsteps on the grounds. While he couldn't see them in the low light, he was certain they were all but invisible for the moment, so Jaune frowned at his current partner in crime. She gave him a lazy glance and pressed a finger to her lips. How did the dark not bother her? He sighed, but nodded, pushing himself up to follow her when the coast was clear. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him - He'd worked pretty hard to get into Beacon, latching himself onto a team of very pretty girls that all seemed to like him, and now he was sneaking out.

Life was all kinds of weird.

A curse slipped out of his mouth when his foot caught on something invisible in the shadows. Scowling in the general direction of whatever the object was, Jaune let the frustration bleed away. It knew what it did was wrong, there was no reason to be angry at it. Of course, it was likely an inanimate object anyway. No thoughts or feelings of its own. Maybe he should give it a kick for good measure, if only to have a bit of satisfaction himself. Instead, he glanced over to where the laborers were loading up another airship.

"If you're going to ask again," Blake shot him a quick look, crouched down behind a low wall. He followed her lead. "Wait until we're back in our room. If we get caught on here, we're probably going to be punished. If we get caught in the Forest, it won't be by a human or a faunus." Past her, the several men were unaware of their presence, and past them; Beacon Cliffs. Their way in… or out. Hopefully, a way in that didn't involve a long process of being flung through the air and trying to find a way to land without becoming a spot of color on the forest floor. The single reason he had even survived the fall was because of Pyrrha, more so because he hadn't even had an Aura then.

Which brought on a good question.

…Why had she saved him, just to dislike him?

It wasn't like he had been cocky or ungrateful. He'd done his best to be kind, despite her somewhat obvious frustration with his presence. She'd even seemed _pleased_ when he'd mustered up the courage to compliment her once in fact! It confused him, but then again, so did most women. Strange creatures. Pretty creatures, but strange creatures. Pyrrha just managed to be stranger than most. Yang and Ruby were easy enough to get along with. Weiss was gorgeous, but he was quickly learning that she wasn't without her faults, and Blake was…

Well, Blake was moving. He hurried to catch up to her without making much noise, a quick and constant stop and go as they navigated the small maze of boxes and the roaming men working. Soon they were outright sprinting to the edge of the cliffs without anyone calling to them, and Jaune hesitated when Blake hopped over the edge. The casual decision of hers stopped him short. _Trust._ He steeled his thoughts and made to follow her, stopping again when he reached the edge. An experimental glance over, just in case, told him of how to make it to the bottom - slide and hope.

So, he cringed at the idea and hopped over the edge before he was spotted gawking like a lunatic.

It was an awful idea, he decided once he'd picked up speed. His controlled slide was nothing short of loud and painful within moments, and was just as fast to end. He rolled over the grass and dirt, lucky enough to miss a tree but not lucky enough to miss a bramble of thorns, all of which were far too happy to poke and prod him in many uncomfortable places. "Ow." Jaune groaned, relaxing into a pile of flesh, dirt, thorns, and no little amount of pain. "Blake, I'm just gonna… you know, gonna lay here for a bit."

"No."

"Okay." He took an offered hand and struggled out of the bramble, stopping when his crawl had moved him onto the ground a decent foot or two from the edge of the thorns. Blake looked down at where he was laying and brushing himself, an almost amused look on her face. "She dislikes you because you keep bringing up her fame." He struggled to his feet with her help, opening his mouth to ask a question and closing it when she held up a hand and rolled her eyes. "Not now, please. She is our friend, Jaune, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's noticed how comfortable she is with all of us. But every time one of us reminds her that she's a Champion, it alienates her. Yang and I have stopped, you're just way slow on the uptake."

"Oh." That… did make some sense. What was the saying about the simplest solution? Blake moved forwards, breaking the edge of the bushes and setting a hand on Gambol Shroud. Jaune made to follow, mirroring her action with Crocea Mors. "So, when you sa-"

"It must be very frustrating to be constantly reminded of the pedestal you put yourself on." Blake shot him a harder look, "Just like it's very frustrating to have someone talking while you're listening out for dangers."

"Right." He clamped his jaw shut, drawing his fingers across his lips and miming the action of locking them shut. Blake's frown deepened for a moment, before she rolled her eyes and turned to move again. He followed her, hand on his blade and his eyes darting to each shrub and tree trunk in turn. Still, he couldn't quite focus on the surrounding area, his brain pulled itself back to one singular subject; Pyrrha Nikos. It twisted itself around the problem and ached trying solution after solution, many of which ended poorly. He hadn't even known she was a big deal in Mistral until Ruby had told him... maybe that was the solution?

But he didn't talk, like Blake wanted. Not that it helped much, taking into account that he was much heavier footed than she. Somehow, each step would crunch leaves or crack a twig, while Blake was as silent as cat's feet. He glared down at his boots and deepened his frown, adjusting how he walked in an attempt to quiet himself. The efforts yielded no results, except for him nearly barreling over his teammate when she stopped short and put a hand up to stop him. He teetered on one toe, hopping three times and trying to set his other foot down without making noise. It failed, of course, but Blake didn't comment.

Instead she crouched down low and pushed into thick brushes, spreading two branches aside to make a peeking hole into the forest beyond. She glanced back at him, looking almost surprised that he was so close, then jerked her chin ahead. "There's the… what'd you call it again?"

"Blight."

"Right." She drawled after a beat, giving him another glance. "You'll have to tell me where you got that name."

"Just sort of came to me." He shrugged, grimacing at how loud the clinking of his armor sounded. Why did he wear it again? "Is it not good?"

"No, it works." Blake stared through the tiny bush hole she'd made. "So what are those things in the distance? The Blighted corpse should be there, but instead…" Her head leaned forwards. "Are those like… some sort of eggs?"

"Uh. That would be bad, right?"

"Probably."

"So we should do something about them."

"We should leave, tell the headmaster."

"What?" Jaune frowned at her, furrowing his eyebrows. "No, we're here now. We can just go, I dunno, pop 'em."

"Right." She drawled again, the same exact tone. Like he was an idiot. "And when that brings a lot of those Blighted back onto us?"

"C'mon, we're both capable fight… ers…" He trailed off at her raised eyebrow. "Okay, You're a capable fighter. I'm a good meat shield with a sword."

"Uh huh."

"A sword that not only cuts through Blight easy, but sets them on fire." His reasoning, while good, did little to convince Blake. So, he sighed. "Fine, go back and tell the Headmaster. But I'm going to go see if I can stop any more Blighted from spawning while you're gone."

"That is an awful idea."

"Yeah? Well, I'm the leader here." He was being stubborn now, and the worst part was that he knew she was right. But that defiant streak, the need to fix a problem, didn't let him relent. "So either go or don't."

He stood and pushed out of the bushes, holding his blade out and shield up as he moved into the forest. After a few seconds, something moved to his left and he suppressed a noise of fright, spinning to see… Blake. "Let's get this over with. Quickly. No use in being quiet." She sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "And put your sword down. You'll tire out your arm."

"Y-Yeah." Complying, Jaune dropped his sword and jogged forwards. Like she'd said; No need for subtlety. They crossed some fifty yards with ease, ending up with them standing on unstable, squishy ground overlooking five rather large pods... or eggs? "Woah." Jaune poked one, then jumped back when it pulsed in response. "Gross. So should we smash them?"

"It was your idea, your choice." Blake reminded him, lifting her scroll and aiming it at the pods. The scroll clicked several times before it disappeared back into her pockets. "I say stab at them and get ready to run."

"I'm not so sure about this."

"Neither am I. But it was your idea." She shrugged and dropped her voice to a mutter. "Should've brought Yang along."

"Okay… ready?" He lifted Crocea Mors and placed the tip an inch from the membrane. It almost seemed to shy away from the steel, the yellowish liquid inside seeming to glow in response. "Woah, see that?"

"That… looks like a Beowulf." Blake leaned to his side, her face an equal mixture of awe and disgust. She wasn't wrong, either. He could see the white mask, foggy behind a haze of off color yellow. Almost like puss. How _gross_. "What in Anima...?"

"We shouldn't wait around and find out. Blake, back up." He watched her until she complied, then stepped forwards and slid the blade business end first directly into the center of the egg. The reaction was instant. First, the egg deflated, or maybe melted was a better word, and erupted into a bright blue fire. The yellow substance inside spilled out over his hand and _burned_. He yelped and shook his hand, dropping Crocea Mors in the process. Next, the entire forest came alive with screeches and clicks.

Finally, Blake's eyes met his, as wide with fear as he was sure his were. Jaune dipped down and lifted Crocea Mors in his pained hand and turned to sprint away. Blake was ahead of him, her weapon out and at the ready. "I didn't expect that!" Jaune cried, dodging a stump. The girl ahead of him glanced back only for a second.

"They reacted fast." Said Blake, who leapt over a fallen log and looked far more graceful than he could ever hope doing so. "Like… Like… I don't even know."

"This was a bad idea!" Jaune pointed at her, recoiling in his run as he plowed headfirst through several branches. "An awful one!"

Blake gave him one incredulous look, her face furious and her voice firm. "This was _your idea! Your! Idea!_ "

* * *

 **They are, as they would say in Vale, 'in a pickle.'**

 **So we're gonna have some fun. Sorry for the cliffhanger, I don't really like to use them personally. I get their use, but I'd rather have the chapter end with any sort of resolution rather than a question. I couldn't find a way to fit the answer to the question 'why the hell are regular Grimm in Blighted eggs?' in the end of the chapter.**

 **Anyway.**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Author;** KISS; Keep it simple, stupid.

I find it ironic that, as we grow as writers and storytellers, we tend to make things so complex that from the outside it's nearly impossible to follow. We love our high tier sentence structure, complex formatting, and we definitely _adore_ our vocabulary. We think knowing what big words like lackadaisical, corpulent, and of course, lethologica(which is the inability to remember a particular word or name.) We _LOVE_ big words, but a lot of us have this idea that it makes us seem smart, or makes us better writers.

I'll burst that bubble; It doesn't. Most of the time, you just sound pretentious. And it definitely makes your writing harder to read on all levels.

Simplicity is king in most things. In this case, you're going to impress me a hell of a lot more by conveying complex ideas and emotions with simple language. Simple sentences.

Lets use an example. In this example we're gonna ship the fuck out of Firewall(Jaune and Yang, yay!), and we're going to use a big word; mamihlapinatapai. It's a noun borrowed from another language that translates, roughly, to 'looking at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which both parties desire but are unwilling to do'. So here we go;

 _Jaune paused from his work, glancing up at where Yang stood over him. She leaned forwards and sat, her eyes locked unwavering on his - their gaze_ _mamihlapinatapai. His heart hammered in his chest.  
_

Now this isn't a _great_ example, per se, because it mostly sounds forced when I reread it. But you get the idea; _What does that mean?_ If your readers have to google a word, you're probably being too complex for your own good. So lets rewrite it, changing everything after 'unwavering on his';

 _Jaune paused from his work, glancing up at where Yang stood over him. She leaned forwards and sat, her eyes locked unwavering on his. He blinked once, licking his lips and swallowing in an attempt to wet his suddenly dry throat. That action broke the standstill as Yang's eyes flicked down to his throat, if only for a moment. He let his own gaze wander then, falling to her lips and back before she could catch him. In his chest, his heart thrummed a rhythm, threatening to overwhelm him. He needed to leave, or he could very well die._

I mean we know what happens next. Yang is a 'teach someone to swim by pushing them in the deep end' sort of character. But I digress.

It's not as polished and perfect as I'd like(since it's basically a rough draft paragraph), but the point stands that while the paragraph is much longer, you are brought _into_ the life of the characters without it being broken by words that neither of them know. There's an intensity behind it that isn't broken by a sudden rush of... _'wait, what does that mean?'_ You can follow it, and while it's simple and easy to read, you can get every bit of information you need just by showing just enough for the imagination to take hold. I can picture the way they're staring as if I'd just walked in on them, the way Yang is sitting(and it's not even mentioned how she is. It builds a picture.


	11. Jaune VII

**Hiya. Now that we've got ourselves a fight, it seems like this chapter took some time. I could have cut it in half, which I did consider, but there's no real good breaking point. So you're looking at approx 4.5k words.**

 **Should still read pretty quick.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Of all the times for his scroll to buzz and blare out a cheery tone, now wasn't the greatest. Jaune ripped the device out of his pocket, clenching his fingers around the thin rectangle so it wouldn't drop and barreled through another set of brush. Only once his path was clear for a time did he glance down at the screen. Howls and growls drowned out the sound of the buzz(but not that damn ringtone she set and wouldn't tell him how to change) as Yang's cheery face stared up at him. He tapped the answer button with a finger.

"Where. The _hell_. _Are you two_!?" Her voice was nearly a screech, matched only by the look of undivided anger in the video. Anger directed at him. Jaune averted his eyes and ignored the question, choosing instead to dodge around a tree. Blake pulled him from his run to duck behind a rather large fallen log, jostling the device in his hands. Yang didn't seem to mind repeating her question at both a higher volume and pitch. She even added a threat to the end, how nice of her!

Jaune, after catching his breath, swallowed a pit from his throat. "Emerald Forest. We came to check out the Blight and uh-" Another howl, "It uh… I... well, you hear that, yeah?"

"Yeah." Yang, in the video call, grumbled something that her scroll didn't pick up and set it aside. She gave the object another annoyed glance, which was likely meant for him, but the anger had faded as quick as it had come. Then, she pulled open her locker. "I see you didn't invite me to the party."

"Honestly?" Jaune reached up to wipe sweat off of his face, "It would have been a good idea to."

"Nah, that's alright." Yang clipped Ember Celica onto her wrists and extended the weapon out, cracking her knuckles. "I'll just crash it."

"Please." Blake leaned over to his side, so he pointed the camera towards her. "Quickly. They're closing in."

"What about Pyrrha?" Jaune tilted the scroll back his way, stopping for a moment to glance to the side as the sound of splintering wood echoed. Close. Too close. "Is she-?"

"How do you think I found out about this little date of yours?" Yang's interruption was strengthened when her arm reached out of frame, as did most of her upper body, and came back with his partner in tow. Pyrrha gave a little wave, looking down and away from the scroll. "We're on our way."

"Jaune, they've found us." Blake loaded her weapon and rolled her shoulders. She wasn't wrong, unfortunately. Throughout the clearing, Beowulves stalked out of brushes and shadows, tilting their heads at their prey and thrashing their claws along the ground. At first glance, Jaune almost felt relieved.

That changed when he took a closer look. Their fur was shiny and matted down in places, a yellow sheen that belonged, with no doubt, to the Blight. Their faces were cracked, their fangs and claws longer. They looked unnatural. Jaune felt his stomach drop. "Need you two here, now."

"Give us twenty seconds," Pyrrha, this time. "Then call your locker."

"Call my locker?"

"They're rock- Nevermind. Blake?"

"Counting already." The girl beside him responded, standing to her full height. The call cut out, so Jaune stood too. He hefted Crocea Mors and extended his shield, knowing full well that he was not prepared for the coming fight. But he had to at least try.

"Just fight to your front and I'll cover your back." Blake let Gambol Shroud fall down until she held it by the ribbon, spinning it in circles at her side. She took a position at his back, at the ready. "Sound good?"

"Uh huh… Wait, do you feel that?"

"What?"

"Soul crushing regret?" He looked back at her.

"Don't be so dramatic." Blake smiled and rolled her eyes anyway, "Good luck."

"Yeah." Jaune stepped towards the prowling Grimm against his better judgement. His heart pounded. "You too."

For a time there was silence and stalking, broken only by a stray growl or a distant howl. He turned a slow circle, watching the beasts and trusting Blake to protect his flank. Jaune's patience broke, so he hit his blade against the edge of his shield twice. A taunt that made all hell broke loose. Blake's weapon cracked in rhythm, the Beowulves falling to her shots yet closing the distance faster than he'd ever prefer, each one falling replaced by two. He met the first one with his shield, pushing it back and slicing through its midsection with his blade - it went clean through. Black blood with a yellow sheen splattered over his blade and armor, stinking of rot and earth. The next beast landed a hit on his side, a brash heat against his aura from the force of his armor taking the blow, a blow that he replied to with another strong slice through the Grimm. _Right, that's why I wear armor._

The Grimm came and fell for what felt like an age, each one as mindless and easy as the last. They were weaker than normal, not by strike but by durability. That much he knew by now; these Blighted Beowulves were brittle… maybe they were unfinished, or just cannon fodder? But for what?

Some uncountable amount of Grimm later, he felt a cold bite in his leg. On reflex, Jaune swung Crocea Mors in a circle and severed the offending claws. Jumping back from the threats, he reached down and pried the claw that was still stuck fast in his thigh out with a grunt, tossing it aside and returning his sight up in time to see another body charging at him. Jaune yelped and ducked below it, coming up to engage even _more_ Grimm that were closing in. Hopefully Blake could take care of the straggler behind him.

A new sound joined in the growls and howls, a rumble of an engine that was soon replaced with a dull thud.

It distracted the coming horde, who stopped to swipe and make any amount of noise at the coming threat.

The Rocket-Locker crushed an unfortunate Grimm as it landed, something that brought a smile to his face despite the growing fatigue in his body. He fell to a knee and braced himself on his blade, brushing sweat off onto the sleeve covering his shoulder while he had the respite. The door of the locker exploded outwards in a shower of sparks and screeching metal, and out came his last two teammates. Yang was first into the fray, whooping as she crossed the distance with a jump and landed a particularly nasty looking blow on one of the bigger Beowulves. The blonde cried in triumph, "Taste my fist!"

Pyrrha came out swinging as well, though she was much more reserved. Milo and Akouo twisted and spun, severing and crushing the opposition alongside the other newcomer to the battle. While those two held the attention of the Grimm, Jaune turned to look for Blake. She herself was handling things quite well, Gambol Shroud weaving circles of steel as the girl flipped and pirouetted over and around errant bites and claw swipes.

They were surviving, but they couldn't last forever… The leader looked between the two fronts. Yang and Blake each held a side, while Pyrrha dipped between the two to provide help wherever it was needed.

They were holding things off without him.

Instead of just standing there like an idiot, Jaune pushed away the feeling of being useless then dipped back out of sight, pulled his scroll back out, and called out to nobody in particular. "Cover me!"

It took the headmaster two ring cycles to answer, but when he did Jaune was surprised to see no look of surprise or even anger. Just amusement. "Mr Arc." The headmaster tilted his head, "Am I safe to assume that your team is the reason that one of the lockers have been deployed?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't suppose-"

"Boom, baby!" Yang's voice interrupted him, punctuated by laughter.

"Like father…" Ozpin sighed and rolled his eyes and let a ghost of a smile show. "I've already woken a team for search and rescue. They should be arriving by bullhead within a few minutes."

"How did you know…" Jaune stopped himself short, the headmaster waiting. The answer was as obvious as a smack to the face. "I'm guessing you get alerts for when lockers launch, huh?"

"Yes."

"I'm also guessing you have cameras set up out here?"

"Also correct."

"S-So you can get us out of here?"

"With some luck."

"I'm _also_ guessing you'll want to see us when we get back?" Jaune winced as the airship came into sight, lights blinding him as they came on and the sound of wind and the whine of engines filling his ears. Howls echoed through the trees.

"Full marks, Mr. Arc." The headmaster swiped something on a screen below him and took a sip from his mug. "Ah, good, it seems the team has arrived ahead of schedule. Tomorrow, before class. I'll be waiting in my office."

The call cut out with a beep.

Jaune shoved the scroll into his pouch and stood, looking up at the door of the bullhead. It slid open with a clang and revealed a team of three, one large male, one shorter one, and a female in the center with a hand on her hip and a handbag hanging from her fingers. She surveyed the field with a turn of her head, eyes hidden by dark looking sunglasses. Then, after seemingly deciding something, she leaned towards the larger male to her side and said something, before laughing and switching her bag from one hand to the other.

"Heads down, loves!" The woman called from the bullhead, stepping forwards in her heels and lifting the dark colored bag to her side. Or maybe it was a purse. He wasn't quite sure.

For a moment, and only a moment, Jaune wondered what the handbag would do to the Grimm.

He figured out in that moment that he'd forgotten the first rule of Beacon; Everything is a weapon. _Everything_.

The handbag opened and expanded in a way that made him wonder if the physics he'd learned in school had some… "minor" inconsistencies. From brown leather came gold and black metal, twisting and turning until she held what looked like an extra large mini-gun with extra gun and a side of pain. The barrels whirled in circles and Jaune had the strangest thought then; _Ruby would die of happiness if she saw this._

With delay, a realization hit. His eyes widened and he turned to his team and shouted, "Shields!"

The mini-gun roared as he lifted his shield and braced it with his sword arm, dropping into a half crouch to cover as much of his body as he could. Pyrrha fell to his side and did the same, overlaying her shield with his, while he felt a warm body press against his back not even five seconds later. From where she was pressed against his back, Yang cackled at the rain of chaos that tore apart the forest around them. This crazy girl!

When the oversized weapon fell silent, Jaune dropped his shield and took a slow look at the devastation around. He checked his shield and found it unmarked by the mini-gun, as was his body and armor. Clean… ish. "Uh…"

"Remember this, next time you wanna go fighting without me." Yang slugged him in the shoulder, moving away from him to Blake, who sat down on the dirt and brushing hair and sweat out of her eyes. She hadn't taken a hit, but the girl did look tired. Blake gave him a tight smile that was changed by her eyebrows raising at the center, while her partner shot him a wink as she retreated. "You jerk."

He'd have to ensure his teammates got to sleep in as long as they wanted.

Until then, he was left with Pyrrha. Which, all things considered, was better company than he could ask for.

"Hey…" He greeted, sheathing his blade. She blinked and averted her eyes. He frowned. "Listen-"

"I'm sorry." She blurted, cutting him to silence before clearing her throat. She stepped forward and wrung her hands in front of her chest, smearing black blood across her nice leather gloves. "I… I'm sorry that I didn't support your decision. And I'm sorry that I didn't come along."

"You think I'd be mad about that?" Jaune couldn't help it, he scoffed and turned to watch the Bullhead land. He didn't much care to look her way at the moment, doing his best to tame down the anger that he did feel. The emotion at the forefront of him was disbelief. She either didn't see the real problem or she didn't believe it was a problem. He was silent for a time, instead, letting her stew in her own emotions while he decided the best way to word his. Maybe he was being a little unfair with his silent treatment, but after weeks of their partnership… he'd take the small satisfaction before he tried to fix it. Only when the woman who wielded the mini-gun beckoned them forward did he turn his head to her and speak as they walked. "I'm fine with you disagreeing with my plans. Just because I make them, doesn't make them good. But we need to talk. Later, after we're back."

"Okay." His partner nodded, looking chagrined enough that he felt guiltier than before. Jaune pushed that away as well, brushing sweat off of his forehead and boarding the airship. He collapsed in one of the seats and rested his elbows on his knees so that he could hang his head between his arms and fold his hands over the back of his neck. His skin was equal parts searing, chilled, and clammy.

He breathed. In, out.

The tension and adrenaline bled out of him, more than a small current of fear he hadn't realized he'd felt released the hold on his heart. It was like someone had lifted a car off of him. Those were replaced by fatigue and relief, and a small bit of triumph - they won the night. A pair of finely crafted black heels, designers by the look, stepped into his sight, twisting to the side and one travelling up and over as the woman they belonged to sat down and crossed her legs. Jaune closed his eyes and let out another long breath. The loud engine sound muffled as the doors clanged shut, reducing to nothing more than a low hum. The ship lurched and his stomach did a little flip.

"Hm." The woman across from him adjusted how she sat in a rustle of cloth. "You're not having some sort of attack, right Cupcake?"

Jaune glanced up, if only to make sure that it was he was the one being talked to - he was. The older student had leaned forwards to rest her elbows on either sides of her legs, effectively crossing her limbs over each other and making it look completely natural and confident. He felt like he'd just look foolish doing that. Which he probably would, considering that it was a very feminine stance. Her eyes, a striking brown, watched him over sunglasses. No, they more than watched - she was sizing him up with that little smirk on her face. At this close proximity, it was painfully obvious just how pretty she was. And even more so that she knew it.

"No, I'm fine." He lied, ignoring the muted feeling of sickness. "Happy to be alive, I guess."

"Mhmm. If you say so." She tilted her head and gave a half smile from the smirk, holding out a hand. "Coco Adel. Leader of the team that saved your sorry asses."

"Jaune Arc." He took her hand and shook. "Short, sweet, and… eh, nevermind."

"Ladies love it, right?" Coco's teeth flashed, "Cute. Never heard _that_ before... "

"Yeah..." Heat crept up his neck as his face flushed, which just made Coco chuckle, which in turn made him more embarrassed. In an attempt to curb that feeling, he tilted his head as she did. "How do you abbreviate 'Team that saved your sorry asses' anyway?"

"Very carefully." The leader of team 'that saved your sorry asses' removed her sunglasses and stowed them away in a shirt pocket. Why was she even wearing them at this time of night? "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"

He blinked.

Did _everybody_ use that saying in northern Vale?

"Team Juniperberry." Jaune supplied.

"Team Coffee." Coco replied. "I thought… Isn't Juniper Berry two words?"

"Yup."

"Huh. Ozpin, you naughty man." The woman leaned back and lounged in the seat like it was her own personal throne. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, how about we get down to business. I need something from you."

Business? Need something? Uh oh. He mulled over the words in silence for a time. The more he kneaded the thought, however, the less it made sense and the more it worried him. The Headmaster had been the one to send them. Could she really ask them to do something despite being sent specifically to save them? He most definitely did not want to end up being some groupie for upperclassmen, nor did he want to-

Coco laughed and broke his concentration, making a show of wiping at her eye whenever Jaune did nothing but stare. "Oh my, you should see your face."

"Wh- What?"

"You look so scared, it's so precious! Ah, I already like you."

"Coco," The large figure two chairs down on her right leaned towards the two, face impassive. "I don't believe teasing will help move the conversation forward."

"Oh, fine, Yatsu." Coco rolled her eyes and leaned towards him, "Two things. First, I'm letting you off with a warning this time, yeah? But now that we're friends-"

"We are?"

"- if you underestimate my aim again and I _will_ shoot you."

Yatsu smiled and shook his head.

"Noted." Jaune set his forehead into his palm, "I thought you were being serious for a moment."

"I am."

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant."

The blond sighed and brushed his hand through his hair.

"Don't worry, Cupcake, you and Cherry Bomb over there make a great shield wall anyway. You'll be fine."

"... Cherry what-now?"

"Cherry Bomb. She means me, Jaune. We-" Pyrrha leaned forwards to talk past Blake. Another boy, this one with dark skin, scars, and white eyes tilted his head in their direction, cut off Pyrrha(much to her annoyance), and explained. "Coco gives everyone nicknames. Everyone but Velvet."

"She kicked the crap out of me when I called her Bun Bun." Coco explained, resting her elbow on the armrest on her side and twisted her hand through the air as she talked. "Pretty hard, actually. Made me so proud."

"Okay." Jaune drew out the 'oh' of that word and looked around the cabin. "So you're 'Yatsu', you're Coco, you're…"

"Fox." The dark skinned boy supplied. The large boy on his left waved a hand in hello. "Yatsuhashi Daichi. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jaune Arc."

"Fox." He pointed at the smaller boy, then to the larger. "Yatsuhashi." A nod, so he looked to Coco again. "Coco. So, then where's Velvet?"

"Back at the school. Poor thing needs her beauty rest, she can't just wake up gorgeous like me. Oh, That's the second thing; I need you to look out for little Velv. Tell me if she's getting picked on and by who."

Jaune opened his mouth to say something, then closed it when it became apparent that he just had nothing to say. He couldn't rightly refuse, if not because of his conscious, but because it was a simple thing to do. That, and Coco had that giant gun of hers. Except for one problem. "I don't know what Velvet looks like."

"Well, she's the only Faunus in the school with rabbit ears." Coco shrugged, "Shouldn't be that hard."

"She's a Faunus?" Jaune blinked and something clicked. "Oh."

"That a problem?"

A sudden thought hit him with her icy tone, a sideways comment his father had made a long time ago that had gotten him smacked; _She seems like fun and joy out in the world, but I bet that she's all whips and latex behind closed doors._

Now that he was a little older(and had access to the Remnet), he was fully aware of what his father had meant. Just now he understood completely.

Her glare scared him, so he backpedaled as fast as he could. Jaune raised his hands in a 'hold on' gesture. "Oh, by my blood, no no no." His explanation was hurried, punctuated by nervous laughter. A quick glance around showed him several different variations of that glare. Yatsuhashi looked quite curious, Fox's eyes were intense, and Blake just peered at him with a blank expression. She was just as interested in what he had to say as well, it seemed. "I have no problems with that at all! I was just putting two and two together. You know... 'Bun Bun' and bunny ears."

Blake furrowed her eyebrows and glanced away, pursing her lips. Did that mean she was satisfied or dissatisfied with his answer? He hoped not - he liked Blake, she was a good friend.

"She doesn't like being called that." Coco drew his attention back.

"You uh… mentioned that."

"Guess I did. Up to you to remember it, Cupcake. Not my fault if you get your own ass kicked."

The rest of the trip was comprised of small talk, mostly Jaune asking questions about Coco - a trick he'd learned from his sisters when it came to keeping the conversation going. She was, all things considered, fairly open. She knew Pyrrha by fame since before his partner had come to Beacon, even had an autographed picture of the two together. Rich family(explained meeting Pyrrha), normal home life, oldest of her cousins, and the first Huntress in her close family. He found one thing out very quickly, as if it wasn't already obvious - She loved fashion. Her parents ran a company.

In the short flight back to Beacon, he learned about the difference between a blouse and a shirt, when it was appropriate to wear a sundress, what leather goes with what cloth, what colors clash or work, so on and so forth. He did his best to pay attention, if only to make it easier to shop for gifts for his sisters and teammates, but it wouldn't be averse to say that he was happy when they split from team Coffee at the landing pad. Far too much information that wasn't relevant in the short term.

"Jaune," Blake nabbed his forearm as he made to lead his team into the school after saying his goodbyes, "Can we talk for a second? In private?"

"Uh, sure." This would be interesting. The leader turned to Yang and Pyrrha, "Go ahead of us, we'll meet you back in our room."

Yang had opened her mouth to say something, more than likely something suggestive, but Blake yanked him away before either of their teammates could respond. He stumbled and twisted, eventually finding his footing and hurrying after the dark haired girl as she half-dragged half-led him around the corner of the building and out of sight.

She broke the walk by spinning on a heel, stopping him short with a set of folded arms below her chest. "How did you get into Beacon?"

"Huh?"

"You. How did you get into Beacon?" Blake checked the surroundings with a sigh, then rubbed her eyes. "Look, I don't mean to be rude. I'm tired, I'm cold, and I'm ready to get back to my bed and my books. But how did you get into Beacon without an ounce of fighting ability?"

"I…" Jaune shrugged a shoulder, "Luck?"

"Not good enough, Jaune." Her gaze fell flat. "You're not going to fool me, here. You can't fight to save your life. Literally."

"I thought I-"

"You swung that sword around like a mad man, with no technique or thought of who was around you." Blake shifted her weight and raised an eyebrow, her voice betraying her calm demeanor. "You were just as dangerous to me as the Grimm we were fighting!"

"By my blood, did I really?" Jaune shrunk back from her, pressing a hand into the back of his neck and rubbing. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't-" The girl stopped with a sigh, checking around again before continuing with a gentle tone. "Look, if you're going to lead this team, we're going to need some honesty. We can _all_ tell that you aren't as good as us with your weapon."

"Bu-"

"And we'll work on that, you and I. You're already getting better, so I'm going to help you with that." She continued through his attempt to respond, sounding far more than just physically tired. "But you need to understand. If you're wanting me to follow you into a fight, any fight, there has to be some transparency. I won't follow another leader who keeps these types of secrets. You're my friend, Jaune. I'd like to think you'd trust me to keep a secret."

Jaune didn't even try to respond. Maybe Blake was guilt tripping him, but she not only had a point; she'd talked him directly into a corner - with logic and reason at that. But could he really tell her? He trusted her enough, trusted them all, they were his team and his friends, but… still, if anyone were to find out, he would be done for. The more minds that knew something, the more of a chance it would get out into the world. If he were to be outed, he would be sent packing back home to tend to cattle and grow plants. Mundane and boring, even if it was necessary. It's what his father had wanted for him.

He didn't want that. Not at all.

"I'm surprised." He started, trying for levity in the face of discomfort. "This is the most I've heard you talk since we've met."

"Not the time, Jaune." Blake pressed her fingers into her temples, then sighed again. "Look, would it help if I shared my… my _secret_ first?"

"Mine's… Blake. It's kind of a big deal… a _really_ big deal." He tugged at his armor, unwilling to meet her eyes. It was either answer, or lose her trust. He liked having Blake around, she was nice. "Like, get sent home big deal..."

"Can't be as bad as mine, trust me. I suppose I'll go first. Might want to take a seat, this could take a bit." Her reply begot a confused look from him, so she closed her eyes and took a breath. Building courage for just a moment before reaching up and pulling the knot from her bow. It flowed down over the pale skin of her forearm. "So, when I was young…"

* * *

 **Let me know what you think. Jaune gets to go through the ringer with Blake, should be fun.**

 **EDITED: Went ahead and capitalized Grimm and Beowulves. Just didn't feel right not having it. Also cleaned up some formatting and re-added something that had been lost in upload.  
**

 **Uh... lets talk about the Fog of War?**

 **-Phoenyx**

 **Advice for the Aspiring Author;** Fog of War - Character perspective.

Battles are chaotic and messy. There's really not such a thing as a clean fight, even from expert fighters.

Fog of war is a bit of a fun thing to play with because it lets you give a subconscious reminder about the skill level of your character. A character that is unfamiliar with large scale battle won't notice nearly as much as a character who sees a lot of battle. A character that is not used to fighting with teammates in such a battle likely wouldn't even consider how their movements could endanger their friends. Jaune, in this instance, can't see behind him or to his sides too well. To top it off, he's not as aware of his teammates positioning because his fights are small scale skirmishes at best, or one on one fights. So he doesn't take into account that his wide swings could prove dangerous to Blake. And he doesn't realize it through the distraction because he's focused entirely on the coming enemy, things still aren't quite practiced to him.

It's only because Blake is used to larger scale combat from her past, as well as these specific strains of Blighted being so easy to take down that she's able to keep away from the danger that is Jaune's wild swings.

The subtly comes not from what you don't mention, it comes from what the character doesn't notice. There's a difference here in that I could very easily make things obvious - mention that Jaune is unaware of how his teammates are doing. But that's a tell, not a show. Or in this case, an omission is showing. As a third person limited viewpoint, we're not going to get all of the information as if it were a Third Person Omniscient, we'll get what Jaune sees and hears.


End file.
